Tag Archives: animals

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The sentinel.

15 Comments

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We have a little brick landing at the bottom of our back deck steps. My husband built it years ago without laying gravel so it heaves and shifts and separates and allows grass and weeds to fill in the cracks. This year I think portulaca has taken hold so I’m letting it grow in case it blooms.

But I digress…

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This landing had become one of our woodchuck babies preferred spots.

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The spot where he stands watch.

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Over what, I have no idea.

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But he takes his sentinel position very seriously.

❤️

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All hail Hercule.

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These keep popping up on my Facebook feed and they’re so funny I have to share.

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Pet portraits.

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Sort of.

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I really wanted to send Hercule a picture of His Lordship.

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As I’m sure he could do Dudley justice.

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But the last time I looked he had over 60,000 requests…

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So my chances of being chosen were slim.

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He does the portraits for free…

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But requests a donation to an animal shelter or the street veterinary practice he supports.

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A good cause for some (so bad it’s good) art.

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Return of the trash panda.

23 Comments

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Woodchucks and skunks abound at Casa River, but trash pandas come and go in irregular intervals.

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We’ll see them for a week or two and then they’ll disappear.

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This week brought a nice chubby fellow.

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Raccoons are fun to watch. They have very expressive faces and extremely dexterous paws.

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They also love water. So much, I have to provide a nightly bowl or they tip over my birdbath which still has the cracks and chips from last year’s visitors.

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Cute.

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But occasionally destructive.

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No matter.

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We welcome them all.

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So stinking cute.

38 Comments

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Do they stink?

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Occasionally.

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Is it an awful smell?

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Most definitely.

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But look at those little stinkers.

You have to admit they’re cute as well.

This video was taken as I was on my way out to spread their nightly snack on the ground under the bird feeders. Skunks have bad eyesight and not very good hearing so I got quite close before he realized I was there.

Pardon the wobbly section, I was trying to spread food and film at the same time.

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🦨💕🦨

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Do you sploot?

27 Comments

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When it’s hot and humid we flip on the air conditioning, but the outdoor critters aren’t so lucky. They have to find relief in other ways.

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The red squirrel?

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She sploots.

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Yes, autocorrect… that is the correct spelling.

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Splooting:

Most commonly used by dogs and squirrels. Flattening their belly against a cold surface (like tile or hardwood) helps them regulate body temperature.

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This little lady was in full sploot for half an hour.

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Right on top of the layer of sparrow poo and stray seeds the birds insist on eating on the deck railing.

🥴

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Skunks, wrong way squirrels and a stinky mayor.

23 Comments

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After a few months of no stinky visitors, they’re back.

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Skunks.

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Including this almost completely white fellow.

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Above him on the feeders?

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The right and wrong way squirrels.

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One guess who’s wrong.

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Skunks show up early in the morning before the sun is high.

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And early evening right after it’s gone down.

Looks like they even christened the unofficial Mayor of Bath.

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Poor Larry.

😰

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A comfortable woodchuck and a frustrated feline.

25 Comments

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Our new storm door is Lord Dudley Mountcatten’s most favorite thing in the world right now. As soon as we swing back the kitchen door in the morning and allow him viewing access? He’s perched. Watching the world go by at perfect kitty height.

He watches birds. The rain. Squirrels. A leaf blowing by. It doesn’t matter… he’s there. And riveted.

So when I heard him cackling the other day I figured it must be something good.

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And it was.

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A baby woodchuck climbed the stairs to the landing and lay down on the welcome mat.

Right there.

In front of His Lordship.

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It was almost too much for a cat to bear.

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That little chucker got comfy… and stayed.

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No matter how crazy it drove our resident feline.

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🤣

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