back to the animals

[Ray Zee]

well my resident black bear has sat in the top of one of my apple trees. ate all the fruit and broke alot of branches. did it last year too. no i aint gonna shoot him.
then he squashed a big chokecherry bush. maybe i will change my mind.
today a big horned owl that lives out back and had a little one this year was sitting in a tree sunning itself. not too often do you see owls in the full daylight.
the eagles are migrating through. bald eagles we have year round, but goldens are coming down every day. lots of red tailed hawks also.
the deer fawns are starting to lose their spots. we had many twins this year and only found two that died around the woods. easy to find as the bald eagles and ravens lead you to them.
six beavers live in the river below the house. one family i think. yesterday saw a family of muskrats all lined up in a row on the mudbank eating reeds. cute little buggers.
time for a beer. negra modello.

[Bez]

Ray, you replied to my animal post by trumping up hedgehogs. Do you not get them in the US?

[CCass]

How do you get the internet where you live? /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[astroglide]

how often do you eat at a restaurant? are they good? is your home food good?

[Zeno]

[ QUOTE ]
lots of red tailed hawks also.


[/ QUOTE ]

On a recent hike I spotted a hawk that I couldn't identify. But I think it was either a Cooper's hawk or a Northern Goshawk. I got a good look using binoculars but it was in dark undercover and only saw the back and the well banded tail. The hawk was overall very dark but I could not see his breast or under parts. Anyway it was a bit unusual as he was flying around low in a mixed conifer/open woodland forest and usually hawks stay high - he flew right under the trees and stop on a low branch for a bit before taking off.

Also saw Pine Siskins and some lovely Western Bluebirds.

-Zeno

[juanez]

No elk or mt. lions?

-Juanez (9000 feet in Colorado)

[Ray Zee]

no hedgehogs in the u.s. bez. but i love the little critters

[Ray Zee]

ccass, i get dial up. i live near a town of 20,000 but am out in the woods and farm country 10 miles out. close to glacier national park.

[Ray Zee]

astro, we have some of the best restaurants in the country near by. big mountain ski area is 15 miles away and that is the premier one in the northwest. plus we have some of the best golf courses in the northwest. the area is growing rapidly with rich second home people, who bring with them the fine things in life. as they see it.
i have a large organic garden that supplies way too much veggies.

[Duke]

A buddy of mine found a place up in Montana that he's finishing building. If I recall correctly, it's 160 acres and he's right in the middle of it. He seems to have a 30 minute drive or more for groceries.

Internet is via satellite, I guess, and he has generators for electricity.

I'm not yet sure how many bears he's going to have to kill.

~D

[Ray Zee]

zeno, it probably ws a goshawk. they are slate gray and look almost blue sometimes. the adults that is. they do fly low in the forest as opposed to many other hawks that hunt in the open fields. neat hawk. a few years back i had some ducks that would come up by the house to eat bird sed that fell from the feeder. one of the goshawks came and nabbed a big mallard and ate him right there.
i cant get bluebirds for some reason. have all the right habitat. but the good side is i put out lots of bluebird houses and the swallows nest in them. everyone but me have mosquitos, as the swallows eat their weight in them every day i understand.

[Ray Zee]

juanez,

we have lots of elk around here. but only once in awhile they come to my place as they have to cross alot of farmland.mt. lions do come around regularly as well as bobcats and lynx, but those are real rare.
two years ago a mt. lions came out from under a neighbors house and grabbed their dog. scary. as i just walked by a few minutes before.

[Ray Zee]

duke, i hope he doesnt kill any bears. they are wonderful and dont bother you if you dont leave food where they can get it. it is a pleasure to see one. whether its a grizzly or black bear.

[turnipmonster]

ray how do you protect your garden from all these animals? my parents put up plastic netting because the deer ate all their vegetables.

--turnipmonster

[Zeno]

Most people in rural areas that have problems with deer (usually the largest trouble makers) have to install a fence. We always had a garden when growing up and had to put up a 10 foot fence around the garden. That is the only way to completely keep deer etc out. Other measures can be used but are not as effective. Moles and other ground critters are another problem.

-Zeno

[Blarg]

Yeah I'm wondering why the bears don't eat all those veggies too. I don't see how you could pick all the nice yummy smelling ones in time.

[Ray Zee]

a fence 7 feet high to keep deer out. bears go through everything but tend not to break down garden fences. the apple trees are another matter. some crops the deer dont eat down too much and they go whereever. its always a battle fought but a pleasure won or lost.

[Joseph Busti]

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