JUNE 2012 Scenes!!

**DOC** · 06-12-2012, 08:36 PM

SUNDAY EVENING AROUND SUNSET, I TOOK A 2.3 MLE WALK. WHILE PASSING THRU SOME WOODS I SAW A LARGE BIRD LAND ON A TREE BRANCH ABOUT 200' AWAY. UNFORT IT WAS TOO DARK TO GET A DECENT LOOK AT WHAT IT WAS. AT FIRST I THOUGHT RED-TAILED HAWK, BUT AS I GOT CLOSER AND SHOT 2 PICS OF IT (FLASH & NO FLASH) IT FLEW AWAY.

THE PICS DEF SAY OWL....BARN OWL WOULD BE A GOOD GUESS IN MY AREA. PROBABLY OUT LOOKING FOR A PRE-DUSK MEAL...

FLOWERS IN MY GARDEN....

BARNS ACROSS THE STREET AND UP THE OLD DIRT ROAD....

AND SOME SUNSET/CLOUDS SHOTS FROM THE FIELDS....

**lubby** · 06-14-2012, 01:59 PM

Very nice photos Doc. Looks like you had a nice day.

**Curly** · 06-14-2012, 06:26 PM

Could be a young screech owl. Kinda looks like pointed ears in the second photo.

**Richit** · 06-16-2012, 09:45 AM

Who?.......

**DOC** · 06-22-2012, 11:25 AM

JUST FOR THE HECK OF IT......

**DOC** · 06-22-2012, 05:38 PM

I HAD ABOUT AN OUNCE OF QUIET TO MYSELF TIME THIS AFTERNOON, SO I DECIDED TO PULL WEEDS FROM MY HASTA GARDEN BEFORE THE STORMS CAME. LITTLE DID I REALIZE THAT I WASN'T REALLY ALONE. AT ONE POINT I DID A DOUBLE TAKE ON WHAT LOOKED TO BE A KITTENS TAIL WANDERING THRU AND BELOW THE HASTAS. I GRABBED MY CAMERA, TURNED IT ON AND WAITED....

.....THIS IS WHAT PEEKED THRU THE LEAVES AT ME....

A BABY RACCOON ...ACTUALLY IT TURNED OUT TO BE 2 OF THEM!

KISS-KISS!

PEEK-A-BOO!

THEY EVENTUALLY MADE THEIR WAY AROUND TO MY SIDE DOOR AND CHECKED ON AN OLD BOTTLE....

THEY SEEMED PRETTY TAME, UNTIL I GOT KINDA CLOSE TO SNAP THESE 2 SHOTS AND THEN THEY STARTED TO GROWL....

I BACKED OFF AS IT ALSO STARTED TO RAIN PRETTY GOOD. THEY EVENTUALLY CROSSED MY DRIVEWAY AND LEFT UNDER THE STOCKADE FENCE!

**DOC** · 06-23-2012, 07:10 PM

Raccoon Eating habits: A nocturnal animal, raccoons sleep during the day and forage for food at night. They are omnivorous, and in the wild, eat crayfish, birds, mammals, fish, eggs, insects, earthworms, frogs, berries, nuts, fruits, corn, vegetable matter, and even carrion, but in the city, garbage cans are a favorite target (Vessel & Harrington 1961; MacClintock 1981). Raccoons have two ways of eating, dry feeding and dabbling; both are done while the raccoon gazes away into space and uses its acute sense of touch to investigate its meal. Dry feeding is done with certain types of foods like nuts, and the raccoon rolls or rubs the object of food, to examine and then consume it. On the other hand, dabbling is done where water is nearby and while catching fish, crayfish, etc.: the raccoon lays its hands just under the water and excitedly touches the substrate and rocks and their crevasses for food (MacClintock 1981). It has been noted by many that raccoons in captivity seem to wash their food, unlike their wild counterparts. Studies have found this behavior is not an act of cleaning the food, but it is a natural outlet for normal activities in the wild (MacClintock 1981). Raccoons must masticate their food because they have a narrow gullet and therefore they do not gulp their food like many other carnivores do (MacClintock 1981). Cypher and Cypher (1999) found a mutualistic relationship between persimmon seeds and raccoons. It turns out that persimmons have much higher germination rates after ingestion of the seeds by raccoons. There has been a coevolution factor proposed between raccoons and persimmons, as they have historically been located in the same range together (Cypher & Cypher 1999).

No wonder the FROG in my garden hopped outta the way in a hurry! LOL!