Random Animal Encounters

[FortyTwo]

I love toads! I'm not sure we get hummingbird moths around here, though. I should read up on them.

A few years ago, I rescued a female yellow-bellied slider from a Walmart parking lot. I jumped out of the car, and probably looked like a mad woman as I was trying to make people slow down/stop. I was waving at people and pointing to the turtle. lol
Got her home, and set her up in a giant rubbermaid bin with water and our biologist friend picked her up later on the next day. He confirmed that I was right about her being a her. He released in the big urban woods we have here (it's about 2100 acres). So I hope she ended up thriving there.

She has some lettuce stuck in her mouth, in these pictures. When I took her out to the front yard to hang out a bit, she kept looking at the crappy woods (which are being torn down and developed) across the street and kept trying to make a run for it.

Turtles are amazing!

This one's a goofball for sure. She's blatantly refusing to cooperate. "Well, if you're gonna take a picture, we do it my way. OM NOM NOM."

 

[KLS52]

A few years ago, I rescued a female yellow-bellied slider from a Walmart parking lot. I jumped out of the car, and probably looked like a mad woman as I was trying to make people slow down/stop. I was waving at people and pointing to the turtle. lol

I've done the crazy mad woman thing twice this season, so far. Never took the turtle home, though, as it only needed to cross the road to get to the wooded area/lake.

 

[Pickle Juice]

The hummingbirds keep flying into my porch through the open front door. Usually they can find their way out, but this one I had to assist just a few moments ago couldn't. He was wearing himself out at one of the windows, poor baby, and I had to cup him in my hands and let him outside. I haven't held a hummingbird since I had to nurse two babies who had been abandoned in a freak storm by their mama.

 

[Pickle Juice]

I guess this isn't an encounter with the rat himself, but an encounter with his prunery.

I haven't driven my truck in several months, so I went to see if it would start. I opened the hood, and found the rat I thought I had evicted was back. He made a nest between the containers for the radiator fluid and the windshield washer fluid.

But the structure that really impressed me was the drying rack he had constructed of willow twigs, over the center of the engine. It was full of small plums from the nearby tree, which were drying out and turning into prunes.

No one can tell me that this rat isn't a tool user. He made that rack of willow twigs so he would have a place for the plums to dry, so he would have a stash of food for the winter. They do the same thing to the grapes. The wall in the garage is full of raisins.

 

[led.boots]

I was sitting in my driveway the other night waiting for the pouring rain to let up, and I heard a loud plop. A big frog landed right on my windshield. He hopped around a little, then jumped down and disappeared into the grass. I see why people think it rains frogs.

 

[Moll Flanders]

My cat and puppy were playing with a caterpillar yesterday and I had to rescue it, which I wasn't too pleased about as things like that give me the creeps.

There are pigeons nesting in our neighbour's roof and one of them misjudged and nearly flew in our open window the other day.

 

[Dropkick]

Rescued a wooly bugger (caterpillar) the other day. It got inside my trailer and was traveling in small circles on the linoleum pattern. I put it out in the grass.
Saw these girls right outside the door too.

 

[FortyTwo]

Woolly Bears are the bomb. I especially like the weird mutant ones that are different colors than normal.

 

[FortyTwo]

Gigantic wolf spider in my room. Seems to be fond of Angry Birds posters. Will be careful not to harm him/her, even though I doubt an accidental misstep would hurt the spider because it's effing ginormous.

ETA: Okay, so he/she lives in my printer. That's not weird. Good thing I rarely use it.

 

[FortyTwo]

Google is telling me that he's a he. His name is Kodak now, because he likes the printer. He peeked out briefly earlier, as if to warn me not to take the printer, and then went back in.

And now I'm rambling to nobody about a spider that will probably be outside or eaten by the cat in the morning, and it's barely even past midnight.

 

[KLS52]

Ramble on...I'm listening.

 

[FortyTwo]

Cannot find spider. I bet the cat ate him, or he went outside.

 

[Rosie1]

Or he is nesting in your hair from when you were sleep.
Or maybe he curled up under your pillow, or blankets.

 

[FortyTwo]

Or he is nesting in your hair from when you were sleep.
Or maybe he curled up under your pillow, or blankets.

I'm not afraid of spiders, so this doesn't affect me.

And he was in my computer room, not my bedroom anyways. I hope he didn't go up there because I'd be worried that I squished him in my sleep by accident.

 

[Rosie1]

A few weeks ago, I was snooooooozing and was woken up by Sasha (one of the cats) pawing at and totally excited by this black blob that was scurrying around by my pillow.
I don't have to worry about squishing spiders because she does a fairly good job at getting them to move, and getting me to get the F up so I can get the spider OUT.
I also don't have to worry about her hurting them because all she does is follow them around, sit and stare, lightly paw at them. I always know when there's some sorta bug around that I have to catch.

 

[FortyTwo]

A few weeks ago, I was snooooooozing and was woken up by Sasha (one of the cats) pawing at and totally excited by this black blob that was scurrying around by my pillow.
I don't have to worry about squishing spiders because she does a fairly good job at getting them to move, and getting me to get the F up so I can get the spider OUT.
I also don't have to worry about her hurting them because all she does is follow them around, sit and stare, lightly paw at them. I always know when there's some sorta bug around that I have to catch.

Lucky. I usually find my cat pawing around some half-dead moth and then ending up having to take it outside even though it will probably die, because I can't bring myself to mercy-kill it since there's a chance of survival.

 

[Envy]

I once saw a spider beside my pillow at the wall.

I then went to bed like normal.

Spiders don't faze me at all anymore.

 

[RabbitLuvr]

My husband is terrified of spiders.


I made him deal with the spider infestation we had in our garage this past summer.

 

[KLS52]

I once saw a spider beside my pillow at the wall.

I then went to bed like normal.

Spiders don't faze me at all anymore.

Ugh, I wish...I had a spider crawl on my pillow TWICE in the last few months. I'm only thankful that I saw it and was able to remove it before going to bed. I'm a lot better than I used to be with all kinds of crawly things. I still hate the idea of them getting on me, though. *shivers*

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Say not MY animal encounter...a relative's. Caterpillar with fake 'eyes' xxx