The joys of small wonders of nature

[Cindyd]

I usually sit on my front porch in the evenings, normally listening to music...it's a destressor for me! Anyhoo, last night i came out and spotted an armadillo jumping across the lawn...I thought it was a rabbit at first but it was a fairly large armadillo! And very quick moving! Tried to get pic but was too fast for me. The geese with the new ones have moved on...3 mallards have been visiting daily and/or flying in at evenings...3 of them...2 males and a female...I sit here watching the 1 male run the other male away...but he keeps hanging in there. Yall might be thinking big whoop! An armadillo, and 3 mallards but I've never actually seen an armadillo run across anywhere and I love watching geese, mallards or anything else that chooses to land/visit here..spotting rabbits also on edges of property and spying the garden...and 2 hummingbirds visit me regularly..all day, every day...we used to have some wild hogs wonder on once in a blue moon before property was mostly cleared and would see some deer now and then...construction and building all around I assume has pushed them out elsewhere (good roliddance to the wild hogs), ...over last several years have had small gator show up in pond that lost its way from somewhere and 1 river otter briefly...unfortunately we disposed of gator quickly...(cause animsl control will not do abything). Other than that, I am always excited to see whatever shows up..Hawks, egrets, heron, cormorants, woodpeckers, doves, Blue birds, red birds, wrens, finch, etc., etc., ...
Apparently, it doesn't take much to make me happy! Then there is the Danmned old squirrels!

 

[MNwr786]

Disposed of a gator????? In the frying pan I hope!?

I have never seen a gator or a croc in person, but I heard they were delicious if prepared right. I'm from up north in MN where gators aren't.... Furthest south I have been is Kansas, and the scariest thing I've seen was a nest of king cobras outside Fort Riley in the rocks that hold up the highway 57 along Milford Lake by the Northern Outlook Park.

My better half came home with 10 bags of (what looks like) chicken breasts, but supposedly chicken with "ribs" in them, whatever that means (thanks Walmart). Today I tried a homemade recipe with that mystery chicken (homemade marinade and sauce with rice) and the double-fry part made it a bit tough for me without teeth. I want to try that recipe with gator (and single fry so I can chew it, lol).

Every time I hear the word gator, I immediately think about what it taste like! I can only imagine it would make every chicken recipe I know better!

 

[Buttoni]

I've eaten gator (fried) at a Cajun restaurant called Al-T's in Winnie, TX down on the coast. It has the texture of chicken breast (kind of dry) and is fairly mild,, with an ever so slight taste of fish (kind of like fried frog legs, if you've had those). I liked it, but didn't find it all that special. My Mom said she ate rattlesnake as a kid and that it was similar to gator in texture and taste. I've not had that delicacy yet.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

I take in the nature every morning. This morning I was busy.

Saw a buck feeding across the back hillside.
The morning tick patrol, wild Turkey, were in my small patch of grass.
As I went down the mountain, I saw a Quail crossing the road with a bunch of tiny chicks running behind.

Imagine if I had time to look with a cup of coffee.

 

[GaRp58]

The wife was walking the dog a half a mile from home and spotted a young deer in the treeline about thirty feet away. The deer just looked at her like--watcha doin? She looked away to see what the dog was doing and the deer disappeared into the trees. As the dog got wind of the deer, she started the rocket-man running in circles to look for whatever it was she could smell but got no contact or sight of the little deer.

 

[Cindyd]

I take in the nature every morning. This morning I was busy.

Saw a buck feeding across the back hillside.
The morning tick patrol, wild Turkey, were in my small patch of grass.
As I went down the mountain, I saw a Quail crossing the road with a bunch of tiny chicks running behind.

Imagine if I had time to look with a cup of coffee.

Awesome! Sounds lovely!

 

[Cindyd]

The wife was walking the dog a half a mile from home and spotted a young deer in the treeline about thirty feet away. The deer just looked at her like--watcha doin? She looked away to see what the dog was doing and the deer disappeared into the trees. As the dog got wind of the deer, she started the rocket-man running in circles to look for whatever it was she could smell but got no contact or sight of the little deer.

I wish I could still spot a deer around here!

 

[DrHenley]

I usually sit on my front porch in the evenings, normally listening to music...it's a destressor for me! Anyhoo, last night i came out and spotted an armadillo jumping across the lawn...I thought it was a rabbit at first but it was a fairly large armadillo!

They don't call armadillo "rabbit on the half shell" for nothing!
Normally they just mosy along, but when they get alarmed they can hop pretty fast.

 

[Dave2001]

I wish I could still spot a deer around here!

I had 2 deer in my back yard eating wifes plants this morning!

 

[Dave2001]

They don't call armadillo "rabbit on the half shell" for nothing!
Normally they just mosy along, but when they get alarmed they can hop pretty fast.

Thought they were called armored possums!!

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

We had a baby deer born on the property about a week ago. Momma comes out of the woods looking around about 6ish and attempting to walk comes a tiny baby deer. It was adorable! Been leaving momma deer food.

 

[Mountain trapper]

We see deer most every day around here. Many have fawns now too, one doe that hangs around has twins. Elk and bear are common sights. A couple days ago I looked out the front window and saw a coyote sitting in the front yard watching the dogs playing. We see him every few days making his rounds. Of course I keep rifle handy just in case decides to snatch a chicken. Most every night we can hear coyotes howling. We see red fox and badger on occasion too.
Yesterday we saw 2 bald eagles flying around the area by the pond. Later when I went down to the pump house they were still flying around, sometimes just a few feet off the ground. Bald eagles are scavengers so I thought maybe they found a dead cow or something. I checked around the area and couldn't find anything dead. There were a couple large hawks and a lot of ravens in the area too. We see a lot of bald eagles around here, but mostly in the winter. They could be nesting some place nearby.
We have a lot of wild turkey. They like to clean up under the bire feeders and sometimes they go in the chicken run.
There's always something to see.

 

[Buttoni]

We see deer on our BOL property with some regularity, but not a lot of them. Five at a time is the most we've ever seen. The last sighting was a doe running as though frightened (no foxes or cayotes were seen, though we have both there) back and forth on our 3 pastures. I thought perhaps she had left her baby somewhere to go feed and could not find (or remember where she left) the fawn upon return. She raced back and forth from tree line to tree line for about 10 minutes, always seeming ever more fearful. She eventually disappeared, but don't know if it w as a happy ending or not.

 

[GaRp58]

When we do our daily walk, we can see deer in a distance. Many times as many a 15 to 20. Very shy and run as you get under half a mile away. Lots of little tree stands around the area where you could hide and get a shot at them with a bow and arrow if needed. If we go to the lake to walk, there is a square miles area of grassland and it is half full of little ground squirrels who will sit up and watch you approaching in a car till you are about 20 feet away and then dive into their holes. One of the neighbor boys was fishing on the canal feeding the lake and saw something swimming slowly near the surface and cast in front of it with a small rubber lure. Caught a catfish as tall as himself and fought it for 40 minutes. After measuring it and taking pics, he set it back in.

 

[Dani]

@Cindyd For my 16th birthday I was allowed to go camping with a couple of our church members families. One thing they enjoyed doing at night was go "Dillar Hunting". It was basically all us kids riding around in the back of a truck and when an armadillo was spotted a spotlight was put on it and all us kids would jump out and see who could catch it. It is amazing just how FAST they can run. Catch them by the tail and hold them upside down. They settle right on down. Then we would release them to just run off again.

@MNwr786, @Buttoni 's description is pretty accurate. I first had it as a teen down in New Orleans. Dad thought it tasted just like tough chicken. . . kinda reminded him of how his New York momma would cook their Turkeys every year for Thanks Giving, long hours and very dry tasting. Buttoni, I have actually eaten at that Al T's years ago when my Hunny and I first started dating. Unfortunately, it did close down a few years ago and now a Tia Juanita's. Still good food. Think she has around 3 restaurants within the county. If you get a chance you should visit.

 

[Buttoni]

Oh, I'm stunned to hear Al-T's closed down. We ate there off and on for 30 years. They had such good food, even though the place was dinky and kind of run down. Don't know if we'll ever get back down that way, but will check Tia Juanitas if we do. Thanks for the tip. Al-T's gone..........I'm blown away...........sigh. Best darn dirty rice I ever ate, for sure, and I've eaten a lot of it. Their crawfish étouffée and andouille were super good, too.

 

[Dani]

Oh, I'm stunned to hear Al-T's closed down. We ate there off and on for 30 years. They had such good food, even though the place was dinky and kind of run down. Don't know if we'll ever get back down that way, but will check Tia Juanitas if we do. Thanks for the tip. Al-T's gone..........I'm blown away...........sigh. Best darn dirty rice I ever ate, for sure, and I've eaten a lot of it. Their crawfish étouffée and andouille were super good, too.

We used to eat there after visiting Larry's. Hoping you know what that is referencing?

 

[Buttoni]

Not sure on that reference.

 

[Dani]

It’s a flea market out there.

 

[Buttoni]

Oh, thanks. I guess we never saw Larry's on our drives through Winnie area. We were always on the back coast road from Galveston/High Island up to the connection with I-10 just past Winnie.

 

[Dani]

It is only open the first weekend after the 1st of each month.

 

[Cindyd]

I suppose we've got to count snakes in the picture for "small" or large wonders of nature too...my boys tell me they get tired of listening to my same music nightly if they come down to visit or help work...I have my Bluetooth Dewalt speaker on while im working in garden or yard every evening..(George Straight, Clint Black, Brooks And Dunn, Hank Sr. And Jr. And several more along that line)....anyhow..I went back to my mothers for short time this eve. Took her some dinner...came back and this damn snake skin was laying across rail of porch over my Dewalt speaker! Immediately called the border collies out..."snake, get the snake, find the snake"! They were disinterested...and normally would be all on it. Ran out, yelled at son in garden...come in here, there's a damn snake somewhere on porch loose...his skin is laying across rail! Son says..."oh..I just put that there hoping you wouldn't turn your music on with blue tooth speaker tonight...that skin was in the garden in the raised bed...I'll put it in the compost pile, was a fairly big one eh momma??" Laughed like hell at me! Really???
I was wondering how snake shed skin that dang quick but obviously wasn't thinking.

He needs his butt whooped even though he is 32 now! Little shithead! In meantime I cranked George Jones up on him! Then the Mallards took flight too!

 

[Dani]

I suppose we've got to count snakes in the picture for "small" or large wonders of nature too...my boys tell me they get tired of listening to my same music nightly if they come down to visit or help work...I have my Bluetooth Dewalt speaker on while im working in garden or yard every evening..(George Straight, Clint Black, Brooks And Dunn, Hank Sr. And Jr. And several more along that line)....anyhow..I went back to my mothers for short time this eve. Took her some dinner...came back and this damn snake skin was laying across rail of porch over my Dewalt speaker! Immediately called the border collies out..."snake, get the snake, find the snake"! They were disinterested...and normally would be all on it. Ran out, yelled at son in garden...come in here, there's a damn snake somewhere on porch loose...his skin is laying across rail! Son says..."oh..I just put that there hoping you wouldn't turn your music on with blue tooth speaker tonight...that skin was in the garden in the raised bed...I'll put it in the compost pile, was a fairly big one eh momma??" Laughed like hell at me! Really???
I was wondering how snake shed skin that dang quick but obviously wasn't thinking.

He needs his butt whooped even though he is 32 now! Little shithead! In meantime I cranked George Jones up on him! Then the Mallards took flight too!

Your play list is right up my alley!! I have been known to love a CD and play it over and over while I am working in the house.

 

[jimLE]

Well Cindyd..id get even by scaring the daylights out of him.some how.

 

[DrHenley]

I think this fits in the category of small wonders of nature...
Bunny rescued from hawk by a deer...with extreme prejudice...
Near the end of the video, what appears to be the deer's mother comes into the scene and you can tell by the size comparison that the deer is just a yearling.

 

[Cindyd]

That's amazing!

 

[Buttoni]

No photo to share, but I was standing in our front window talking to my husband yesterday morning and looked out to see our frequent gray fox race across the street, on into the neighbor's yard and over to the next yard. Man, was he fast! All I could see was a bird (I think Mockingbird) that flew down from a tree and was walking around in the grass, so I guess that was what the fox was after. Don't think the fox got it though, before it flew away. We see this fox regularly in winter. He seems to like to use my sidewalk to head out on his evening hunt for prey, anywhere from 7:30-8:30. Seems odd to see them in the city, but there is one sighted here several times a year. One had a den dug into my front flowerbed in Feb 2021 when Texas had the awful freeze. We found his hole under the frozen Cast Iron Plant leaves we had chop down in March.

 

[Buttoni]

I'm happy to have wasps as our BOL cabin for pollination for my garden. Had some squash developing on my plants already! But I wasn't happy yesterday after watering the garden, when a ginormous red paper wasp stung me on the inner elbow. I was putting away the hose under the cabin roof eave and I guess there was a nest overhead somewhere. Two dive-bombed my head and when I swatted away what I thought was a couple grasshoppers (there are tons of them there this time of year jumping at you) I discovered, with a simultaneous sting, to my right elbow, it was a huge brown wasp.

I always react stongly to insect stings: mosquiteo, flea, red bug, spider, honeybees, but not to the point of going into anaphylactric shock. I used to self-administer allergy shots, so I know what symptoms to watch for. I washed it and applied baking soda and that seemed to relieve the stinging. We drove home and it was slightly swollen, pink so I took an n-said, citirizine (zyrtec) and applied an ice gelpack. But today, it has swollen way up (double normal lower arm diameter) with a red ridge around the perimeter of the swollen area, and that red streak is now moving down to my wrist. Entire area itches LOT, but no stinging anymore. Applying gel benadryl or 2.25% cortisone cream isn't reducing itching one iota.

So...............I went to the walk-in clinic at 1pm to start my typical 1-1½ to be told they are so backlogged today, they can't see me before 5pm. Guess the backlog was from July 4th mishaps? Dunno. As Roseanne-Rosannadanna (Gilda Radnor) used to say on SNL years ago: "Dan, it's al.........ways something!"

 

[jimLE]

Well buttoni, apparently it ain't to bad now.two things I learned years ago.1st wasp leave their stinger and the sack 2nd scratch that spot seeing how that removes the stinger.i ain't allergic to the stings.but it helps by removing the stinger.less pain n all.

 

[Helentroy]

I usually sit on my front porch in the evenings, normally listening to music...it's a destressor for me! Anyhoo, last night i came out and spotted an armadillo jumping across the lawn...I thought it was a rabbit at first but it was a fairly large armadillo! And very quick moving! Tried to get pic but was too fast for me. The geese with the new ones have moved on...3 mallards have been visiting daily and/or flying in at evenings...3 of them...2 males and a female...I sit here watching the 1 male run the other male away...but he keeps hanging in there. Yall might be thinking big whoop! An armadillo, and 3 mallards but I've never actually seen an armadillo run across anywhere and I love watching geese, mallards or anything else that chooses to land/visit here..spotting rabbits also on edges of property and spying the garden...and 2 hummingbirds visit me regularly..all day, every day...we used to have some wild hogs wonder on once in a blue moon before property was mostly cleared and would see some deer now and then...construction and building all around I assume has pushed them out elsewhere (good roliddance to the wild hogs), ...over last several years have had small gator show up in pond that lost its way from somewhere and 1 river otter briefly...unfortunately we disposed of gator quickly...(cause animsl control will not do abything). Other than that, I am always excited to see whatever shows up..Hawks, egrets, heron, cormorants, woodpeckers, doves, Blue birds, red birds, wrens, finch, etc., etc., ...
Apparently, it doesn't take much to make me happy! Then there is the Danmned old squirrels!

I'm living in a city right now, so there's not that much "nature" to see. But I am lucky, hawks do fly over head often, they must be nesting on top of a nearby apartment building perhaps. and almost every early morning and early evening a pair of mallard ducks come and visit, they ask to see a menu, but order the same thing every day: asking for the cracked corn bird seed and a side of stale bread ripped very small, with a nice empty planter full of rain water to wash it all down thank you. they are very polite ducks. then after their meal, they will settle down, laying on the front grass, or the warm bottom step, and have a nap with their beaks tucked into their wings. Cute! I feel honored they picked my yard. I have a little bird feeder, so i'll get a few visitors there, like cardinals, the noisy Blue Jays, and the regular sparrows, and now, the yellow finches. very pretty. And of course the terrible squirrels, that dig in my pots of flowers and vegetables!