The Beauty Of The Changing Seasons

[Lady Cannafan]

Hey Heirloom, not sure what your view is there....but if you can see good distances from your resting areas, keep a pair of good binoculars near you too.

Couple years ago when I was so sick that I never wanted to leave my easy chair, these came in very handy to watch wildlife afar.

I've been having tons of fun with chipmunks here, planting a dead limb just far enough out of reach of the bird feeder that they can't jump to it. Hasn't stopped them from trying daily though. LOL And vaseline on the Sheppard hook so they can't climb the pole to get there.
It's been some good laughs.

 

[Heirloom]

I actually do have a pair right next to me. But head turning is very limited. Mostly just eye movements, making for tired eyes in a hurry. I do use them. I caught a glimpse of a hen turkey earlier today, walking across my driveway.

 

[OlderGrower]

I've been having tons of fun with chipmunks here, planting a dead limb just far enough out of reach of the bird feeder that they can't jump to it. Hasn't stopped them from trying daily though. LOL And vaseline on the Sheppard hook so they can't climb the pole to get there.
It's been some good laughs.

Thats just mean, it is a good thing your coming back as a Hummingbird and not a chipmunk because I see lots of vaseline in your future.
Meanie!





Grats Radogast on your new home, it sounds like heaven.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Sorry OG. ;-) To be honest, they appeared to be having fun with the sliding.

 

[ajagunle]

Hi Heirloom, sorry to hear your unfortunate news. This might make Nature more easily observed?

You're likely to still enjoy them when you are fully mobile again

 

[Lady Cannafan]

That is a cute little feeder AJ! I love that.

 

[electro gypsy]

Good morning everyone! Stopped in to share some low tide pics from yesterday. It's in the mid to upper 90's here so I kept the shade of the bridge close. Otherwise I'd fry the moss on my back.. toe webbing cracks.. sheesh.

Looking south at our island cluster from the mainland. I live on the one to the left.

Looking north. Island on the right. Boat launch and dock is where I parked.

Tide is just starting to come in.. this guy looks a little worried. It's a good low tide when you find scallop shells. Been a while since I've seen one.

Camouflaged oysters. Too big for my eating preference lol, so there they stay.

Spider crabs.. sorta creepy.

Found this little guy sleeping..

I think I pissed him off a little lol.

Playing with the panorama settings.. it didn't quite know what to do with the bridge pillars lol.

A cove on the island on the way home. This was where the old ferry used to dock before the bridge was built. The bridge is just behind the trees on the left. The mountain tops just peaking over the ridge on the right are the Olympic Mountains. Kind of hard to see lol. I'll be spending some time up there once the horse flies die down a bit.

Back to the shady forest . A nice Circumhorizontal arc (cloud rainbow) to space out on while smoking a bowl on the deck

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Beautiful Gypsy! And that "pissed off" picture looks to be quite accurate. Nice shots! He looks peeved for sure. LOL

Love the cloud rainbow too. Playing in low tide and seeing what you can find seems like a ton of fun. I would love to do that.

Thanks for the pics, warms me up. It's a bit cool here today.

Are the oysters too big because of taste, or too much of a pain to get them open?

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Critters vs. Cannafan 2016

I believe I identified these as juvenile katydid's last year. They were a source of much carnage on my outdoor cannabis, had to pick them off daily. So....they have begun:

 

[electro gypsy]

Beautiful Gypsy! And that "pissed off" picture looks to be quite accurate. Nice shots! He looks peeved for sure. LOL

Love the cloud rainbow too. Playing in low tide and seeing what you can find seems like a ton of fun. I would love to do that.

Thanks for the pics, warms me up. It's a bit cool here today.

Are the oysters too big because of taste, or too much of a pain to get them open?

Neither It's just my weirdness. I prefer the all in one bite version. There's just something about biting one of those alien looking things in half. They're pretty trippy looking on the outside and even worse in the inside.

And oh yeah he's ticked "I'm gonna F you up with my far more threatening specialized moving claw.. being that my specialized feeding claw may not be so effective.."

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Well, I am seriously upset with the chipmunks out here. I planted sweet corn in three different areas, one area dedicated to just that. Every single place that I planted a seed, the chipmunks dug them out and devoured them. At first I thought it was deer tracks, but no such luck. It was digging and I watched one dig a tunnel right into the screen house area to get in there. Grrrr....

So, all of the tomato plants got planted where the sweet corn was supposed to be. Let's see how they handle those:

Do chipmunks eat tomatoes? LOL

 

[Radogast]

Well, I am seriously upset with the chipmunks out here. I planted sweet corn in three different areas, one area dedicated to just that. Every single place that I planted a seed, the chipmunks dug them out and devoured them. At first I thought it was deer tracks, but no such luck. It was digging and I watched one dig a tunnel right into the screen house area to get in there. Grrrr....

So, all of the tomato plants got planted where the sweet corn was supposed to be. Let's see how the handle those:

Do chipmunks eat tomatoes? LOL

From Mrs Radogast...

Sweet corn is like chocolate truffles to a chipmunk.

Thank you Cannafan. You gave them truffles

 

[Lady Cannafan]

From Mrs Radogast...

Sweet corn is like chocolate truffles to a chipmunk.

Thank you Cannafan. You gave them truffles

There must be a smell to the "truffles" to let them find every one of them. Although I could feel them watching me during the planting, they were probably drawing maps and taking notes.

Thank you to the Mrs. LOL

 

[Heirloom]

Diversion corn. Outside the fence. 50lb bag of cracked corn costs $6-9. Give your seeds a chance to sprout at root. Give the wildlife something easy.

Squirrels, chips and rabbits will eat tomato vegetation. But given a choice they will eat the fruits instead.

 

[Dave Groomer]

Diversion corn. Outside the fence. 50lb bag of cracked corn costs $6-9. Give your seeds a chance to sprout at root. Give the wildlife something easy.

Squirrels, chips and rabbits will eat tomato vegetation. But given a choice they will eat the fruits instead.

See!!! I knew having a "resident farmer" around would come in handy!!! I was just talking with my wife about keeping the little critters out. So far the "have-a-heart" is having limited success (1 baby bunny). Putting cracked corm around is a great idea!! Thanks my friend and reps!!!

 

[Lady Cannafan]

I agree Supergroomer, Great idea Heirloom!

I have two bags of sweet corn seeds left, I'll give it one more try in a different area and leave some cracked corn around it.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

AND, I'm going to start some in seedling pots and get them going first. You got me thinking now Heirloom, sometimes my brain needs a little push in the common sense area.

 

[Heirloom]

Happy to help. I would also recommend you do small piles, maybe a cup or two. Do it over time (a week or two) and push the piles back away from the fence further and further, closer to where ever they are living. Maybe 1 or 2 feet at a time. You want to get there attention and move them away, but not draw every other critter in at the same time. And you don't want the piles to move too far in one go, otherwise they may not find the new location and revert to the garden area.

Electric fence is your best friend. A fence called "poultry net" by a company called Premier1 has kept all animals where they are supposed to be, for me. Either in or out. Worked great for the garden keeping out the usual suspects. And I've fenced 400+ lb hogs with it. I only had 1 hog escape, and that was extenuating circumstances. Once they learn that the fence bites, they stay away. For everything but cattle I prefer a pulsed fence charger. Rather than a constant current it releases a nasty jolt about every 3/4-1 second. Nasty like holding onto a spark plug,. Makes your joints hurt for minutes, but doesn't 'lock' you up like constant current can. You can get a solar charger with battery for as little as $100.

 

[Lady Cannafan]

Happy to help. I would also recommend you do small piles, maybe a cup or two. Do it over time (a week or two) and push the piles back away from the fence further and further, closer to where ever they are living. Maybe 1 or 2 feet at a time. You want to get there attention and move them away, but not draw every other critter in at the same time. And you don't want the piles to move too far in one go, otherwise they may not find the new location and revert to the garden area.

Electric fence is your best friend. A fence called "poultry net" by a company called Premier1 has kept all animals where they are supposed to be, for me. Either in or out. Worked great for the garden keeping out the usual suspects. And I've fenced 400+ lb hogs with it. I only had 1 hog escape, and that was extenuating circumstances. Once they learn that the fence bites, they stay away. For everything but cattle I prefer a pulsed fence charger. Rather than a constant current it releases a nasty jolt about every 3/4-1 second. Nasty like holding onto a spark plug,. Makes your joints hurt for minutes, but doesn't 'lock' you up like constant current can. You can get a solar charger with battery for as little as $100.

We used to use the electric fences on the ranch/farm. They do work!

Can't spend any money here, so it's use what I have available. I will do the little piles per your suggestion. These things, despite my "thinning the herd" last year, are in very high numbers again! They breed like mice. LOL

TTYL and hope you are having at least a fairly decent day.

 

[Heirloom]

The piles keep them coming back to the big, easy cache rather than searching around and potentially finding your buried sweet corn. At least in theory. Animals have a tendency to be random and stubborn. When trying to handle an animal, or deal with a problem and you don't want to harm it, leverage their biggest desires (usually some sort of food) against them. It works better than brute force and building elaborate fortresses to keep them in or out.

If you have an infrared trail cam available to you, you could see exactly what you're up against. How many and what types of animals. What their behaviors are....

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

Sun Tzu - Art of War



Yes, I've read it, twice. And think I will again. You (all) should too. Many principals taught can be applied in various ways to many life situations if you realize it. Tactical advantage isn't just a battle field thing. Or if you like, think of life, business etc as a battle field.



Today is better that yesterday, and hopefully not as good as tomorrow. Thank you.