Prairie Notes

Friends,

Wanted to share some positive news from the prairie.

There are now two baby wrens in the nest on the front porch. What I find so amazing about wrens is that both the mother and father birds pitch in once the babies are born with feeding.

Meanwhile, a stray kitten has surfaced at the edge of the woods in back. Our closest neighbor is a mile down the road, so if we don't feed it, I don't know how it will make it. So you guessed it -- we're feeding it.

Please report nature sightings in your neighborhoods.

EJ

Do you need to fence off the wrens from the kitties?

I have a mediocre photo of a bird I had never seen before, and now see an article where a rare bird has been sighted... but I'm in too much pain to compare the two. Wouldn't that be kewl though?

Hi Sky,

Wrens are high enough up.

Let us know when you get to compare the two photos.

EJ

I love watching birds in my yard. my finches have left now. I sure hope they come back. enjoy them EJ!

I just had a nest of 4 robins make their first flight…the parents built their nest on my back patio. Boy, were they busy feeding worms to 4 babies. I got use to them being there—now that they are gone I miss them.

Depress Me,

You do miss them when they're gone.

Everyone,

I was wrong on my count of baby wrens. Two took off today, and there is at least one left.

Husband was standing by the front door, when he called me to come look at something outside. I was thinking it was going to be a bird, but no, it was a two-foot long snake hanging midway up our storm door.

Husband, was able to chase it away. Husband says he thinks it was trying to get one of the baby wrens.

Last night on the back deck, Tinker, new abandoned kitten, was eating supper. I let Princess out to meet Tinker. Princess has mothered so many of the kittens that have come into our house.

Suddenly, Princess hunched down behind the shoe brush. Husband had said he had seen a racoon at the edge of the woods the other day. I decided to see what was coming, and sure enough it was a pretty good size racoon. Princess lept off the deck and chased it!!!

For a place that is usually pretty quiet, there's been quite a bit of activity going on around here.

What's happening in your neighborhood?

EJ

i have a large toad named Thomas the Toad. last night i found a baby toad. maybe Thomas the Toad is Tomantita?????????

i have a squirrel named Samuel the Squirrel and he is the bane of my existence. he steals. he is a thieving squirrel.......and he takes large bites out of my tomatoes.

there is a great-horned owl that frequents the creek and i saw the biggest crawdad that i've seen in years on Saturday. Bella Anne and i were playing in the creek.

i have a really large scaled lizard with no tail. but it will grow back, i hope. i built a toad house and the big toad uses it.

i have birds of every kind and color. i love them! so many different kinds of doves.

from the small texas town.........

my finches flew the coop. haven't seen them in a few weeks now. I am hoping they migrated somewhere. the cardinals are still hanging out and an occasional hummingbird and plenty of rabbits bouncing around!

I am looking out my living room window at the fattest robin I have ever seen. I didn't know they came that big -- this thing's pigeon-size .

We have plenty of bunnies here too!

Pat,

How cool!!

You always have the best avatars!

I can see Samuel scampering away with a yummy piece of tomato.

EJ

Hi Bebop,

I love the hummingbirds. Haven't been able to get my feeder up yet this year.

Bunnies are so beautiful too.

EJ

Candybear,

Lucky you to have such a big boy!

Hugs,

EJ

I don't know which was more fun.......watching all the different kinds of birds that visited my sister's bird feeders or......watching the squirrels try to get into the bird feeders.

Watched one little guy try every limb of the cedar tree until he found one strong enough to hold his weight and high enough to give him good aim at the feeder pole before making his leap of faith. He missed but I had a great time watching him.

We live in town so was really surprised to see a squirel running along the back fence (about 12 ft from house). First one arrived not long after Wilma blew through. Now we have two. I don't know where they come from or go to but they really seem to like my fence.

Another "member" of my menagerie consist of a 4ft long black snake that has decided the best place to sun himself is in the bushes be side my front door. Can you imagine what happened when his little black forked tongue reached out and tickeled my elbow......it wasn't pretty.

A gecko (love Geico's TV ads) and an assortment of lizards, frogs and BIG cockroaches make up the rest of the neighbors. I refuse to name the cockroaches.

I would have either died right there on the spot or it would be a dead snake!

Well the snake is still alive but you should see the back of my pants! I ran in, got my #10 cast iron fry pan but it was gone when I got back.

rotfl lol I left my 3 yr old standing right by a snake one time. I am so deathly afraid of them.

My positive news I'm afraid has turned to sad news.

Little Tinker, stray kitty we were trying to befriend, has not been around for two days now. We're afraid he's been eaten by something bigger.

He was so tiny. I wish people wouldn't just dump poor little animals out to fend for themselves.

EJ

My 6 pound puppy can now run as fast as an 70 pound dog! So proud!

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EJ711 said:
My positive news I'm afraid has turned to sad news.

Little Tinker, stray kitty we were trying to befriend, has not been around for two days now. We're afraid he's been eaten by something bigger.

He was so tiny. I wish people wouldn't just dump poor little animals out to fend for themselves.

EJ

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Sending prayers that it just found its way home.. its really sad isin't it that someone can just be that careless with something so reliant on us for its needs.

and, on another note.. about those big cockroaches - as far as im concerned they can all go to heck. Thats one creature I cannot make myself like as I am deathly afraid of them. ESPECIALLY the big ones.

EJ, twice I've had cats that brought home "adopted" kittens to me. The last one was Morris, an abandoned adult orange tiger male that I took in who brought home a tiny stray kitten. I cleverly named her "Kitten". hehe.. I assume the cats were all hanging out, telling one-up tales ("Oh yeah? Well I once slept for 88 hours!") and Morris said "Hey, I know a place where you can crash! And she won't kick you out either! Even if you bite her a few times!"

Maybe you have a Morris out there on the prairie who was looking for a buddy.

Zen,

Yorkies are amazing!

Rainbow,

I'm out in the middle of nowhere. Closest neighbor is about two miles down the road.

Echoes,

Thanks for writing. Our neighbor told us shortly after we moved in that people do dump animals out here. Two of our dogs were "special deliveries".

I can't believe how quickly Tinker had gotten under my skin and into my heart.

EJ