The Bears are Back

Today is when we found the squirrel's tail. The dog refused to go potty out there. I finally took him for a walk around a park. We were coming back when something caught my eye. It was a light brown bear. We decided to walk the other way and told the neighbors. Everyone came out to watch it from a distance. It was having a good old time in the neighbor's garbage can. The neighbor girl said that it looked like a Cinnamon bear. A nice young man said it looked like a Teddy Graham. I thought it looked like a great big ole teddy bear. It ended up going into the neighbors back yard that is just down from my back yard. Fortunately, the nice young man walked me and the dog to our front door. I was just glad that the dog had been potty for the night. Sure enough, the neighbor man told me to watch out for rattle snakes. I told him that we did not want to encounter them. He reassured me that we definitely did not want to encounter them but they are out there. My neighbor is going to e-mail me a picture. I will post it when I get it.

All that is left of the squirrel is his tail.

Today, I came home for lunch to let the dog out. He wasn't interested in going potty and wouldn't leave the patio. I walked out with him and discovered that all that was left of the squirrel he had been arguing with was part of his tail. It was coming up from under the grass. As I was driving back to work, I did feel some remorse for that poor squirrel. It was a feisty little feller. I'm sure that the culprits were the two gray coyotes with white on them. I saw them in the bushes on the bluff three days ago. They were searching for some rabbit for dinner. The rabbits had scampered away, but the squirrel wasn't so lucky. Fortunately, on the day I saw the coyotes the dog had just come back in from going potty and was safe and sound. My sister said that I was the one that should have felt lucky that I was safe and sound.

The Foxes and Squirrels are back

Last year I didn't see any squirrels nor did I see any foxes. I thought this a bit unusual. I was walking my dog the other day. We came upon the park and from a distance saw what looked like another dog. I wondered where the dogs owner was. As we got closer, we could see that it was a fox and not a dog. It really didn't want to be seen by us so it went along its way and took refuge in a yard close by.

I heard a ruckus outside my window the other day. I looked out and saw a squirrel and a magpie arguing with each other. I thought to myself what an ornery ole squirrel that was. Magpies actually eat squirrels. The magpie was pecking and flapping it's wings at the squirrel. The squirrel was hitting the magpie in its face with it's tail. The magpie was squawking and the squirrel was squealing. The squirrel would walk a few feet with the magpie pushing it along. Pretty soon they were out of sight but I could still hear them arguing.

I put my dog out on his chain in the back yard. Our patio is fenced in but our yard is not. I left the patio gate open so that I could keep my eye on the dog. I have to make sure that no wild life gets him. He was sunbathing and enjoying the beautiful spring weather. All of a sudden that dog just went nuts. I walked out to see what in the world he was barking at. He had chased that same ole ornery squirrel up the side of the neighbors house. The squirrel was just squealing and squealing at the dog. The dog was barking and barking at that squirrel. I finally had to take the dog in the house to get him to stop barking. The squirrel just stayed on the side of the house squealing and would not leave nor stop squealing until that dog was gone. It must have some babies close by.

A couple of days later, the dog and I went out the front door to go for a walk. Low and behold, there was that same squirrel sitting right next to a rabbit. The dog could care less about the rabbit but took off on a dead run after that squirrel and chased it right up a tree. The squirrel was squealing and the dog was barking. When we got back from our walk that squirrel and another squirrel were running around in a different tree. The dog gave them his two cents worth, and we went in the house.

All I can say is that squirrel better watch out. My neighbor has an all black cat that is quite a little hunter. That cat manages to avoid all predators, is going to use every one of it's nine lives, will kill that squirrel dead if he catches it, and leave it for the magpies to eat. I can't see the cat running up the side of a house, but it can sure get up that tree with no problem. That cat kills things that are bigger then he is.

It looks like it is going to be another lively spring and summer with the wildlife. The only thing that we haven't encountered so far are the rattle snakes. We have heard plenty of stories about them. We know that they are close by. They have even made nests at our neighbor's houses. We are really hoping that we won't ever be writing a blog about them. That is one part of the wildlife that the dog and I don't wish to encounter at all.

I was extremely tired and fell asleep early last night so I had to take the dog out potty at 2:00 a.m. We saw a rabbit and were thinking that we were safe from predators. However, we did hear an animal calling out from the bushes on the bluff. The rabbit was long gone by now. We had never heard that sound before, so we hurried right back in the house. I wondered if it was a fox, because I don't know what they sound like.

We will have to wait and see what adventures the summer and hiking bring. I'm studying for this huge nationally recognized certification exam for my profession. I take the $400.00 four hour test at the end of June. The studying has hampered our hiking and social life a bit, so I will be glad to get that behind me.