A Couple of more Days
of the Winter that Won’t Quit
Well with all the snow cover, my bird /
squirrel/ possum feeder is the busiest place around. It’s not unusual to go
through a couple of gallons of bird feed in a days’ time and at least 50 lbs
per week as a brown hole where all the animals scratch and feed around my
feeder as the circle grows daily unless a new snow fall forces it to retreat. The squirrels
were not a choice of animals I would expect here in my yard, but it is rather
open back here and I have dogs, yet it seems as if the squirrels know, and curb
their activity when they are outside.
The possum on the
other hand is so ugly and rude I don’t think anyone wants to eat it. And I think
they know as they are the slowest animal, with the nastiest attitude and just
kind of stand their ground and could care less whether dogs or humans are
there. They just do as they want. Babe and I encountered one just the other
night as he was visiting the bird feeder. It hissed and Babe watched it but
showed no interest besides curiosity at the attitude of the possum as defiantly
he would hiss and growl as he vacuumed up any tidbits of bird feed left on the
ground.
We spotted him
also up by the ducks and again he passed within feet of me seemingly on a
mission he apparently had been on before, and that was to steal some duck food,
alias fish food. You see in a search to find something to feed the ducks when I
first received them I went through a variety of foods and when feeding the fish
I noticed the ducks take a liking to the fish food, and would forego that Purina
wild fowl food that was specially blended for them. The fish food floated on
the water for a period of time due to fish oil and fish and shrimp parts and
pieces that are ground and formed into pellets that float on water. Well the
ducks just love them, in fact they crave them, and in the worst case scenario
the fish get fed with the left overs. But don’t tell the ducks I have to re-label
the bag as they think it is just for them. So it is kind of a win/ win situation. Now in
regards to the possum, he would visit the ducks snarl at them and then also
head for the buffet that consists of the daily supply of bird feed, and also
that portion of the duck food that didn’t make it in the water. Again the
possum would snarl and scarf up the rest of the morsels of tastiness to keep
him or her going another day.
Seeing the new
variety of animals venturing into our yard searching for sustenance is new to
our family. I have seen Dad at numerous times take a shotgun out on the porch
and shoot at a squirrel, just because it was there. Mom’s taste buds will water
when you mention squirrel hunting claiming it makes the best gravy. Me all I can
think of is Bullwinkle the Moose wandering around without little Rocky the
Flying Squirrel to help him get in and out of trouble. Without Rocky, poor Bullwinkle
would be just wandering around without any purpose till he climbs the
embankment and looks up to see a semi come barreling over him. Had he shot the squirrel
I was expected to play retriever and go gather the squirrel up so we could have
some of that good gravy. Oh boy I couldn’t wait.
The Escapee-Mudder
Back then I could care less if I saw a
squirrel, that way I could watch cartoons a little longer. It took quite a
while to get the wild animals to come back in the yard and the bird feeder had
a lot to do with it. Now it is nothing to see deer in the back yard eating
apples off the trees or squirrels dancing in the trees, or sitting on my
carvings eating walnuts dug from the snowy ground. I would rather have the
solitude of a peaceful surrounding to the noisy death of friendly creature
anytime. If I don’t conserve and allow nature to their own, then there may be
no animals in the future, at the rate humans are going.
We have 4 rare
white rhinos in the world due to over hunting and poaching, and the only
breeding stock is all deemed sterile and unable to reproduce making their
species extinct. We need to stop this behavior or we will be eating protein out
of test tubes. It is coming. But for now I am doing what I can to just help the
critters through this winter of winters. While chuckling at what nature has
created.
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