 |
Wild and Not So Wild World |
AlohaStation
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 27, 2004
Posts: 2003
From: So FL
|  Posted: 2009-04-28 1:43 pm Permalink
My favorite Possum story - True story!!
Adding to the possum frenzy - here's my favorite possum memory. When I first moved into my house, there was a family of possums living in my attic. So I bought a humane trap and it worked immediately. Caught the first one right at sunset. That night a storm was rolling thru so I felt bad so I climbed up onto roof and covered the cage and gave it some food. Early the next morning I was going to release it in the Everglades. To get it to the Everglades I had to place the cage in the back of my Jeep Cherokee. Have you ever smelled a scared possum? They release a musk much like a skunk. So I'm driving down the road with my head stuck out the window trying not to puke! The Everglades are surrounded by a levee, I pulled around a beach that airboats use and proceed to the top of the levee to release the possum. I have a bit of experience with handling animals from my days of working at a roadside zoo (remember I live in FL). The possum did not want to come out of the cage so I struggled trying to get him out. Eventually I get the possum out of the cage and it looked at me like "what now". It slowly walked down the levee towards the airboat, beach area. DONE - not quite. As it walked away I grabbed the cage and placed it back in my Jeep. As soon as I turned my back - SPLASH, SPLASH!! When I turned around the possum was gone and there were only a few ripples in the water!! I was sooo pissed. Not that it had gotten eaten - it was the fact that I took such good care and suffered thru the smell and struggled getting it released - I didn't get to see it get eaten!!!!
I caught 3 more and tried to duplicate the experience with no success - they all lived, damnit!!
|
Son-of-Kelbo
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Aug 03, 2004
Posts: 590
From: NOHO, CA
| Posted: 2009-04-29 10:27 am Permalink
Mmmm. The catering around here's never been better since Tom started his 'wildlife conservation program'...
_________________
"Don't let it be forgot,
That once there was a Spot,
Where Blowfish all wore sunglasses,
and Tiki-times were hot..."
SOK
|
Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2009-04-30 6:43 pm Permalink
Good stories guys.
My brother just told me this one: One night working at the rock quarry he finds a gopher snake jus walkin' around, yeah jus walking around. So he picks it up goes into the scale office and a big truck driver walks in and sees this snake wrapped around my brother's arm. The driver turns around high tails it out the door, slams the door so hard it breaks the window, glass everywhere. Never came back the rest of the night. I thought truck drivers were burly men not girly men.
|
uncle trav
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 27, 2005
Posts: 1532
From: Kalamazoo
| Posted: 2009-05-02 05:00 am Permalink
A few years back I had a big red bellied woodpecker making a nesting hole in a large pine tree in my back yard. The bird worked for days and days on it's new home. I took my daughter out to show her this wonder of nature one afternoon and as we were watching the bird peck and peck at the tree all of the sudden POW!!! the tree trunk exploded right at the hole and the top of the tree came crashing down. About fifteen feet of the tree came crashing at us as we went into a flat out run. Must be that the tree was weakened at that point and gave way. We looked for the woodpecker but I think it was able to get free before the tree came down. My wife and neighbor saw it happen from a distance and couldn't believe what had happened. So a beautiful nature story ends with an afternoon with the chainsaw cutting up a tree downed by a woodpecker. Gotta love the neighborhood wildlife.
|
GROG
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Jun 21, 2006
Posts: 6182
From: Tujunga
| Posted: 2009-05-02 08:33 am Permalink
That was one tough pecker!
|
Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2009-05-02 12:48 pm Permalink
It will live in woodpecker infamy forever. "Now son, let me tell you about your Great Grandpa Willy and how he brought down the biggest pine tree evar with just his pecker!"
|
Tikiwahine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3288
From: Ontario, Canada
| Posted: 2009-05-02 4:08 pm Permalink
I've been thinking a lot about frogs in the backyard lately.
I grew up with a little above ground pool in the backyard. Every spring the tree frogs would spawn in the pool, and by summer the night air would be a cacophony of chirps and ribbits. Apparently my brothers sold tadpoles to the neighbourhood kids.
When I was about 13 or so one of my brothers and I dug a pond in my parents yard, hoping to attract the frogs back. One of the neighbours nervously thought his kids would drown in it, so he filled it with newspapers and threw a piece of plywood over top. Oh that's better, a HIDDEN pond you might trip in when the wood rots!
When I bought my home the first thing I did in the backyard was add a pond. Having a dog and cats has kept most wildlife away(apart from the herons and racooons that eat my koi) But now that I'm virtually pet free, I may have a chance at frog re-entry.
I just turned on my pump for the season, but am wondering if that might keep them away? Personally, I'd rather keep the koi inside if I can have frogs in the pond! Then at least I won't have to replace the fish when they become sushi. Does your waterfall or pump impede the toad's spawning? Or do you have a quiet, stagnant place for them?
You should take some backyard wildlife photos!
_________________
 
Great Minds Drink Alike
|
Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2009-05-02 9:12 pm Permalink
The area of my pond that the toads spawn in is a quiet area, not raging near the waterfall. I have a "bog" (about a foot deep) or step whatever you want to call it where I set Acorus 'Ogon' or 'Variegatus'. Just set it in the water in the container. I have about 5 of those in the pond along with water lily at the bottom. (3 ft. deep is best). Also have horsetail, cattail, and taro. This gives any frogs, toads or turtles plenty of places to hide, spawn and eggs will attach to the plant material. You can add basketball size stones or smaller at the edge of the bogs to keep the koi away. They eat everything. They're not fish they're really pigs with fins.
Pix soon.
_________________
[ This Message was edited by: Jungle Trader 2009-05-02 21:59 ]
|
freddiefreelance
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 15, 2003
Posts: 2983
From: San Diego, Ca.
| Posted: 2009-05-05 10:09 am Permalink
Quote:
|
On 2009-04-28 10:56, GROG wrote:
Nearly hit deer on GROG' murdercycle a couple of weeks ago
|
|
What it was doing on GROG's Motorcycle we'll never know.
_________________
Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., Th.D., D.F.S
|
Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2009-05-06 5:13 pm Permalink
Check this out, 2 toads, the smaller (male) on top of the BIGGER female. For 2 days they've been doin' it. Now that's love.
[ This Message was edited by: Jungle Trader 2009-05-06 17:14 ]
|
AlohaStation
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 27, 2004
Posts: 2003
From: So FL
| Posted: 2009-06-04 11:39 am Permalink
I work in a mirror glass building on the water in Downtown Fort Lauderdale. The windows are constantly being hit by birds. Occasionally we get other visitors that see their refections in the windows - here's one.
She's a bit small - we have some that almost twice her size. What's really unsettling is that you can be walking along and these guys will shoot out the bushes in a panic and run for the water. They see you but you don't see them - SURPRISE!!
|
Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2009-07-01 9:46 pm Permalink
I told a friend that we have been blessed by a swallow nest just above our front door. Yah, the baby is flying around already, didn't waste any time. So the friend says she had hundreds of nests up under her eaves (she lives on a ranch in the cuntry). oops forgot the o. They had to get rid of them, just too much crap. dang. maybe I'll post a pic of the swallow in the nest.
Also if you have tomato plants then you have tomato worms. Go out there at night and jus listen, yeah jus listen real close and you'll hear them munching, then grab and stab the shit out of them. heheh.
I have also introduced frogs to my backyard. 15 to be exact. Most are only about a half inch diameter. Guys, put yer forefinger and thumb up and measure a half inch. yep that's how big. Most of them left but a couple have stayed behind. That's why I was trying to get tadpoles instead.
Next I'm going to try to introduce salamanders, especially the threatened Calif. Tiger Salamander but I want to make sure it's within legal limits to do so.
Any new stories from anyone?
|
Jungle Trader
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 04, 2003
Posts: 3691
From: Trader's Jungle Outpost, Turlock, Ca.
| Posted: 2009-07-01 9:53 pm Permalink
Here's an image of the California Tiger Salamander.
Isn't she a beauty?
_________________
Oki NiKsoKoWa
(Hello all my relatives)
TikiJungle.com
|
GROG
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Jun 21, 2006
Posts: 6182
From: Tujunga
| Posted: 2009-07-02 12:56 am Permalink
Damned birds are looking for mates. Wake GROG up every morning chirping loudly in tree outside GROG' bedroom window.Driving GROG batty.
|
RevBambooBen
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 12, 2002
Posts: 7197
From: Huntikington Beach
| Posted: 2009-07-02 06:44 am Permalink
Quote:
|
On 2009-07-02 00:56, GROG wrote:
Damned birds are looking for mates. Wake GROG up every morning chirping loudly in tree outside GROG' bedroom window.Driving GROG batty.
|
|
|
