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Mike filled the bird feeder yesterday and I noticed that the Red cardinals have found it today. There was this female cardinal that was sitting on the old trucks side mirror looking into the mirror flapping her wings like she ws trying to run off the bird she saw in the mirror, Cardinals are very territorial we have noticed here...more so than others. Only recently have seen the male cardinals appearing. We usually see the females. It quite funny to see all the quail and different birds that benefit from that one little feeder. The birds on the ground get what the other birds drop. And the Rabbits love the corn we put out.
I am going to go and get some frozen Blueberries out of the freezer and have a treat. Berries are good for the stomache, cherries especially. Plus the flavonoids in the bright colored veggies and fruits and Dark Chocolate(1 oz Of Dark is good) Love Oma
May I be more compassionate and loving than yeterday*and be able to spot the idiots in advance
A little over two years ago, I blew an engine in a big truck, and just parked it, since it was old, anyway. The next spring, I started noticing a female cardinal pecking at the mirror on the right side of the truck. She would do it at irregular times, mostly during the mornings. Then, I noticed a nest inside the grill of the truck, also on the right side.
This year, it's the same old routine, so I assume that the nest was/is hers. I have never seen a male do that, so now I'm wondering if it's the female's job to defend the territory in the vicinity of the nest.
Speaking of rabbits liking corn, several years ago, I was bowhunting for wild hogs. Since this was during the hot part of the year, rather than prowling through the brush, and risking a heat stroke, I just scattered corn under a tree, and after the hogs got used to coming there, I hunted it in the late afternoons. (For non-Texans reading this, baiting is legal here in Texas, especially for wild hogs, which are considered to be the worst pest since mosquitos were invented).
Anyway, there was a little cottontail rabbit that lived there, and whenever I arrived, he would be patiently waiting for his supper. LOL. As soon as I scattered the corn, he would eat his fill, and move on, before the hogs arrived.
Tell you one better than that. My brother had a blind in another pasture on the same ranch, and during deer season, that year, he would park his pickup in the brush, and walk roughly two hundred yards to his blind, at the top of a hill. One day he noticed a little cottontail rabbit hopping along behind him. When he stopped, the rabbit stopped, and when he walked, the rabbit would hop along behind him. When he got to his blind, the rabbit sat in the brush and patiently waited. When my brother walked back to his pickup, the cottontail was right behind him. The next time my brother went hunting, the rabbit hopped along beside him, rather than behind him, and waited for him right under the ladder of the tower blind. They were buddies for most of the season, and then one day the little rabbit didn't show up. It made my brother kinda sad, but I guess a coyote or bobcat got him.
Love,
Wayne
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Those are great stories Tex. I haven't noticed any nests as I still use the old farm truck to go to town. But I check all the time for nests and things of that nature.
I was working in cinstruction In Texas City in the Winter time. I had a 40 Trailer that was my tool room. I had heaters and all sorts of things for warmth. I had sectioned off the back Quarter with heavy plastic to keep the warmth in there (My office) Anyway....I had A large mouse problem and set at least 8 traps a night and every morning I had to empty 8 traps.
We have so many critters running around eating here that they think we are a cafe LOL Love Oma
May I be more compassionate and loving than yeterday*and be able to spot the idiots in advance
When we were camping in Florida last month there was a cardinal who saw himself, and fought with himself, in every hubcap and bumper of two trucks parked near us. He just kept making the rounds. Eventually he got bored I guess, or worn out, and left our road. I think both males and females defend their territories.
Loved these stories. Especially the bunny stories, Tex! Was it not bunny season?
If I remember right, rabbit season never closes in Texas, as far as the game laws are concerned. I'm not positive about that though, because I haven't hunted the little rascals since I was a teenager--they're too cute. LOL.
Out here in the country, they live in our yards, in order to have a better chance against the fire ants, coyotes, and bobcats.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi All! LOVE the wildlife stories! Here's my wildlife report:
Lots of cardinals here too - in the past few days I've counted up to 10 different pairs at one time. The goldfinches are turning bright yellow, and the robins are back in full force. Have yet to see a bluebird. We have a gorgeous pair if hairy woodpeckers eating the suet.
Several nights ago I looked out the window and there were 5 raccoons eating the seeds under the birdfeeders! I didn't know they were social critters. The next night a raccoon and a red fox were feeding together in the same place about 2 feet from each other. I didn't know they weren't natural enemies. For the past 2 nights the raccoons have managed to get the suet feeders down - I'll have to take the suet in tonight. They are such delightful creatures. I read that some folks have proposed the raccoon as the national animal symbol (instead of the bald eagle) because they represent the American qualities we most admire .....energy, resourcefulness, spirit, determination, curiosity, and problem-solving.
Love,
Polly
P.S. The only frog eggs so far are from wood frogs. They haven't hatched yet.
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
I love cardinals. They don't come to the west coast, but are in eastern Canada. I saw some when I visited my brother in VA, thought.
Anyway, I made a beaded one that I can enjoy in place of the real ones:
Hope my image comes up this time.
Thanks, Wayne - this time I really read your instructions properly and I think Ive got it.
Tex...No One cares if you hunt Rabbitt all year in Texas, but the cotton tail have a fever in the summer so you can't eat them. Winter months it;s ok to eat them. We don't hunt them tho. Altho Rabbitt meat is wonderful.
Polly...All the racoons I ever saw were very social if they know humans. And are fed by humans. I lived in Florida for awhile and watched racoons follow pwoplw to the trash, wait for them to leave and then have dinner in the trash can. They are smart and very Cute. My daughter had a boyfriend that had a pet racoon, they were made to put the coon in his car while visiting a realative because the coon wanted the dog...anyway they put her in the car and the coon locked all the doors and in a fit tore up the complete inside of his car. Love Oma
May I be more compassionate and loving than yeterday*and be able to spot the idiots in advance
"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." -- Buddha
And the Rabbits love the corn we put out. 
