[Magdalen] wildlife and not-so-wildlife report

[Grace Cangialosi]

80 today, they're saying!

> On Oct 28, 2014, at 10:46 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Yesterday was warm and wonderful and today promises more of the same. I
> went for a walk yesterday afternoon, enjoying watching the preparations of
> wildlife for the approaching cold weather. S/O and I both remarked on the
> unusual number of small squirrels about; it seems that a bumper crop of
> acorns has been accompanied by a jump in the squirrel birth rate, as these
> must be this year's kittens. They are quite amusing, as they keep
> forgetting what they're doing in order to play, mostly chasing each other
> up and down or around and around a tree trunk. One came all the way down a
> tree to yell at me as I made my way up the driveway, while its sibling
> stayed farther up the tree hollering worriedly at it...that was so funny I
> stood there for about five minutes just to keep them going. Also the small
> woodpeckers, chickadees, and titmice are starting to investigate the
> feeders, wondering when the birdie cafe will re-open. Not until frost,
> quoth S/O!
> 
>> On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 6:28 PM, Don Boyd <thedonboyd at austin.rr.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Our suburban neighborhood is host (well, not exactly; the deer were here
>> first) to a herd (maybe a dozen or so) of white tail deer, and they are
>> indeed fascinating to watch--fawns, young bucks testing their fighting
>> skills, several does and one older (and rarely seen in front yards near the
>> street) buck with an impressive rack.   I am told that deer rarely go more
>> than a mile away from their birthplaces, and although residential
>> development has constricted their range the deer herd has survived at its
>> present size for several years.  Their only natural predators hereabouts
>> are coyotes, but since household pets are easier prey for the coyotes than
>> the deer the main danger for deer (apparently not among the brightest of
>> fauna) is the automobile.
>> 
>> Home gardeners here know which plants deer will leave alone unless they're
>> starving (there's no such thing as an absolutely deer-proof plant) and
>> which plants one may as well not try to grow unless they wish to provide
>> candy for the deer.  Garden centers and the county agricultural extension
>> office provide lists of "deer-resistant" landscape plants.  (These tend to
>> be bitter-tasting, thorny, or hairy.)
>> 
>> Don in (droughty) Austin
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "James Oppenheimer" <
>> oppenheimerjw at gmail.com>
>> To: "Magdalen at herberthouse.org" <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
>> Sent: Friday, October 24, 2014 11:48 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Magdalen] wildlife and not-so-wildlife report
>> 
>> 
>> Yes, nothing is quite as joyful as joy!
>> 
>> We have a number of deer in our yard.  A special treat are the fawns,
>> especially when they are obviously out with mom for the first few times.
>> They will frolic, sometimes two or more together, and sometimes they even
>> get mom involved for a moment or two.
>> 
>> Pure joy.
>> 
>> James W. Oppenheimer
>> *“If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better
>> for people coming behind you, and you don’t do it, you're wasting your time
>> on this Earth.”  -- *Roberto Clemente
>> 
>> 
>> On Fri, Oct 24, 2014 at 11:09 AM, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Hawk migration is in full flight currently, and S/O reported seeing 6 of
>>> them in our yard this morning, some of them quite big. I am really sorry
>>> to
>>> have missed them! They seem to overnight in the wooded area behind our
>>> house. We are also hearing owls calling one another back there at night,
>>> so
>>> it appears to be courtin' time for them. Now that the leaves have mostly
>>> fallen we can see the deer as they make their trek back and forth down the
>>> hill. There seems to be lots to eat as they look very well-nourished this
>>> fall.
>>> 
>>> Yesterday S/O was standing at the kitchen sink and called to me, "I think
>>> Cat the Younger has caught something out there." I joined him to look out
>>> and it soon became apparent to me that the black and white Rodent Control
>>> Officer, the one I call Deputy, was simply having a wonderful time playing
>>> in the leaves, rolling in them and kicking them up into the air. He's a
>>> big
>>> cat, I think quite likely the son or brother of the one who took up
>>> temporary residence with us last summer, who he greatly resembles except
>>> for being black and white instead of gray and white. He's also a good deal
>>> less approachable, but yesterday he was just like a kitten, playing in
>>> those leaves in the sunshine for about ten minutes. Such a joy to watch!
>>