Wildlife count update

With each day comes a new sighting of the wildlife here.
Day before yesterday I startled a fox on one of the hills behind the house. Yes, I had my camera but by the time I got it out, turned it on and aimed, well, the fox bounded away. He/she sure was a pretty little thing.
Late yesterday afternoon there was an odd type of squawking sound. After looking around and not finding the source I figured oh well. Just about then movement in a tree caught my attention. There, up in a tree, were a bunch of Quail. If you look close you can sort of see them. There must have been a dozen or so.
The buck came down for a visit the other morning. And there have been two more Bobby the Bobcat sightings.
Oh, and the smell of skunk hung in the air for a little bit the other night. It wasn't close to the house which is a good thing.  If there is one smell on this planet that will make me gag, it is the smell of a skunk. Yup, I gag everytime. 
Haven't seen a raccoon or a possum yet, but not saying they aren't out there. 
Arnold isn't any worse this morning which is a good thing. At the old house the stall barn was up which made it easy to stall a horse or donkey who wasn't feeling well. Here there is not much for them except a portable stall with a tarp for covering. I have to drive into town today so will pick up some pine shavings in case I do have to bring Arnold here to the house. 
Who knows what other wildlife I will see!!! Now if only I can take pics at the speed of light!! 
Until next time....................

Wild neighbors

Am having to use the old desk top computer until the wireless is hooked up for my notebook. In the meantime I have uploaded images from the web. Day before yesterday while chopping wood ( that alone is an adventure), a neighbor stopped by to let us know that there is a Bobcat in the pasture with the horses, donkeys and goats. He said in all his years here he has never seen one in daylight! He also said that our donkeys chased the Bobcat back into the blackberry bushes. I drove the Gator to the end of the pasture and sure enough, sitting there was a wild neighbor! Beautiful. He or she, looked at me and went back into hiding. I don't worry about the Bobcat hurting the horses, donks or goats thanks to the donks being the magnificent guardians that they are. Although the outside cats and the chickens may be in danger if the Bobcat comes close to the house. My chickens are locked up at night. The outside cats go into the garage at night.

After some thought I wonder if the resident Bobcat may be a descendant of one of the trained ones that once lived here when Roy Kabat ( he trained animals for Hollywood pictures and commercials) lived here. Hmmmm. Who knows.



For several days I have watched a somewhat young buck hanging around the house. This morning he was in the front yard! I mentally told him that as long as he stays here on the property that he and his does will be safe. And speaking of does, there are about half a dozen that come down the gully behind the house.



I must mention the wood stove. My hat is off to everyone who has one for their heat source. Having one is a lot of work! Gathering the wood, splitting the wood, stacking the wood, bringing the wood into the house, keeping the stove loaded, cleaning the ashes out and cleaning the wood pieces from the floor. Yes, I admit I got spoiled with today's conveniences. Just pushing a button for heat was really nice......and warm! :)  One more thing. Am looking forward to when the toilet seat is not cold!!! lol

Tomorrow the moving adventure stories will start. Have to say I am glad it is over!!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Until next time.....................



Guilty Pleasures

As of just a few minutes ago two donkeys have left to go to a new home. Ruby and

her daughter Chop have left to go up to Northern Oregon. The girls ( Ruby and Chop) have been here with me for two years and were suppose to go to their owners house, but due to the wife having a stroke bringing them home was no longer an option. After much processing it was best for the girls to move to a new home.

This morning I kept noticing a shadow on the ground coming from the sky. When I looked up this Turkey Vulture was flying above the house.

Sorry about the quality of the pics but my camera was having a hard time focusing in on this guy.

I may have a lead on a place to rent. I will find out next week.

As the title to this post says, Guilty pleasures, I have a guilty pleasure! Want to know what it is? Are you ready for this? Are you sure? I enjoy playing video games! Not all of them, just a selective few. I don't own any systems anymore so now I play games on the computer. For some time I have been hooked on Farmville. I have found playing video games gives my mind a rest from all the processing of life and lets me unstress playing mindless entertainment. I usually am able to squeeze in a half hour or so pretty much everyday and let my mind relax.

Do you have any guilty pleasures? I do have a few more than just video games but will save those for another day.

Oh, and the ground squirrel that has been hiding in the rocks by the house did not make it. I found his lifeless and headless body at the end of the walkway. :( So, of course he got a name ( Buddy) and was buried.

Until next time....................

Wildlife

Lately I have been going through pictures and organizing them. For today's post I'd like to share just a few of the pics of the wildlife up close that have been taken ove the past few years. When we first moved in, a lone raccoon started coming up to the front door and eating the cat food. He got so used to us that he started sleeping in the hay barn. Then one day I noticed he was bleeding pretty bad from his hip. I think he was shot. He seemed to recover and he was doing good. A few months later I noticed he wasn't around anymore. I found him in the back of the hay barn. He had passed away.

This is a pic of a mama raccoon who would bring her babies up to eat cat food. Surprisingly she was okay with me standing there watching her. Haven't seen her in quite awhile now.

There are a couple of ponds across the road and there are a lot of Canadian geese there. Every now and then they land in our back pasture.

Somehow this pretty little hummingbird got into the sun room. Tried to shoo him out thought the sliding door, but he just wouldn't go. So I grabbed a window washer squeegee, held it up and he landed on it! Surprised the heck out of me. Glad I had the camera with me.

Until next time..........................