Night...

is only ONE of the MANY times our kitty is invisible.

The only reason you can see him

is that my Nikon INSISTED on using the flash.

Here in person, he's just an area where all light is absorbed.

If you see NOTHING, not even reflected light,

don't walk into it or sit on it,

as it's probably our cat.

A warm & fuzzy black hole.

He's also much quieter than our colored-for-daytime grey tabby.

I think it's part of the whole ninja gig.

He

is

night

silence

stealth

Professional killer.

Sweet kitty.

'Long as I'm bigger than 'im.

=)

xoxobb

(thus Day 18 of @just_go_do_it's 30 day photo challenge = DONE)

nice buns! gorgeous bobcat strolls past

I am such a nerd, I tweeted this photo

to Jillian Michaels and her podcast producer, Janice Ungaro,

hawk puzzle -- how DO I get that tasty morsel?

Moments ago, a hawk landed on something outside the garden,

but then danced around the fence for SO LONG,

I thought it might be stuck.

I want to EAT you!

wow: amazing video of mt. lion & sheep & deer: what does lion target?

 


Mt. lion is RIGHT by the sheep which stare at it and trot out of the way, but the lion seems more interested in the deer and trots after it, passing the sheep by.

Sebastian Kennerkenecht, blogger who posted this YouTube vid on his blog interprets this as an example of prey selection, posits this mt. lion's mom did NOT eat & feed her kittens sheep (therefore they are not "food") but DID eat and feed her kittens deer.

Kinda cool!

Thanks, Sebastian, and like him, was a little unnerved re: videographer Glenn Street's comment re: maybe he should have shot the lion, but I am nevertheless grateful for this video. Very nice work and an exciting opportunity to see a mountain lion hunting in the bright daylight!

bb

super sneaky tentacled snake...

 
This video on Scientific American shows how this animal takes advantage of the prey's normally helpful reflexes and SNAP! Lunch. And reveals what those tentacles are for.

Dastardly! =)

bb

coyote calisthenics first thing, today...

 
Benefit to getting dressed with shoes on at 7:20 a.m.? When you notice the chickens collectively STARING west, so you go outside to investigate (at 7:22) and see a coyote jogging through your property, you can run in your trail running shoes (vs. floppy fuzzy slippers) after him/her.

Didn't even look at me as it casually loped eastward (humming: doot dee doo, doot dee dooo), then into the back lot thicket. It knows all too well how piteously slow humans are. =) And I wasn't carrying a rifle or anything, so...

Anyhow, nice brief wake-up workout this morning, thanks to my coyote-cardio-trainer.

And a good look at a very fuzzy, beautiful creature.

=)

xobb

My pulse is still racing...

  
Today, Christmas, started out mildly, with a beauty of a sunrise.

Very nice.

Later, I commence to cleaning (guests arriving). Taking a break at the kitchen table, I see through my window that the chickens are playing statue--they are all standing stock still.

Knowing this may mean there's a predator around, I go outside to take a look. I step out, barefoot (since was cleaning the floor), and walk out onto the grass, looking up into the trees for a raptor.

I notice our Rhode Island red, perched high on a cement block, staring west, is the one issuing the call for "statue." I follow her gaze.

A movement from underneath the huge oak tree 25 yards to my left catches my eye.

A gray cat.

I start running after it (yes, in bare feet). I make some distance, then I see it dash across grassy opening between the oak and the manzanita thicket that is the back of our property (i.e. "safe" for any wildlife I'm pursuing).

This time, in better light and in full profile, I realize, woah, that's no gray cat, that's a gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)!

This increases my motivation, as our first chicken "loss" was due to same.

I run faster, but it disappears in the manzanita maze. I mock it, yelling "Yeah, right!" (creative, I know), and head back to the coop.

The time for chicken play in the outdoor chicken runs is over. I lock them up tight and take a picture of our hero, Fanny.

Incidentally, she FINALLY is molting. She's 2.5 years old and has never molted. And wow, now that she's begun, she's not foolin' around. This is the most naked I've seen a chicken. Here's her side of the coop, with the attendant red-feather explosion (pardon the poop).

Then, chickens secure, I walk back toward the house, and what do I see?

Apparently, the chickens and fox are not the only things experiencing turmoil, today...

=)

Who said life in the sticks is dull?

xoxobb

Predator on the prowl, plagued by paparazzi...

  
Haven't seen this guy/lady (oh, yeah, Max was the name) in weeks ("Watching the watcher" in Feb). Here are FUZZY pictures of this very-much-not-a-kitty cat. Pics taken late yesterday afternoon. As in 6:30 p.m. late.

"Oh, no. Paparazzi -- feh!" (as ALways, click to enlarge =) )

"Alright, I'm outta here." (turning around on a log can be a trifle awkward...)

"But first, a good stretch, just to show I'm leaving of my own accord."

Do bobcats whistle merry tunes? If so, how do you spell that?

So, not 30 minutes later, light is getting very dim (so completely fuzzy pic, shutter was open an hour), Max re-appears, MUCH closer to the coop (structure on right).

Time to don my Ogre hat and stomp out there, shovel in hand. Sorry, Max. He's swiped at the hens through the coop cage before, and I just don't  think they need that stress.

So, off Max trotted into the forest behind our property, stopping occasionally to stare back at me to see if I was a) still following, b) indeed, following him, which I answered by staring straight at him.

Yes, you.

So conflicted. As photographer, REALLY want Max to be relaxed and happy here and to get used to me and my camera. Could get amazing photographs.

As chicken guard, not so much. Hmph.

But, as I've observed before, I probably only GET to see Max because he's attracted by the chickens. 

And who can blame him. He wouldn't be the first to be seduced by the charm of a chicken. =) Join the club, Max.

xo biobabbler

what am I chasing?

I just ran after something (predator) and it occurred to me mid-stride that I didn't know what it was. Bobcat? Grey fox? Hmm.

It's an interesting feeling, this realization washing over the back of your brain, while you are chasing an unknown, wild creature into the woods, shovel in hand... =)

And who says the sticks are dull?

wake up call, a la owl

At around 5 a.m. today, when I was being harassed by my cat who was bored (i.e. I was unwillingly and grumpily awake in the dark) I was then happily awake to hear a great horned owl call VERY near my (closed) window. It was the classic "who cooks for you" call. So, once I kicked the cat out of the room, I got to go back to sleep to the lovely call of a friendly neighbor. =) It does happen around here, but not that often, and this was v. close. SO COOL!

Of course, it's really probably yet ANOTHER potential predator of my chickens, but they're in their respective coops when it's dark, so I don't sweat them (yet).

And if you wanna wake up your cats,  surf the web (cornell is always great, but this time I went to www.owlpages.com) and find owl calls and play them. That will get their attention. =)

Speaking of chickens, here's Fanny (her name is a story for another time), our Rhode Island Red, ably pointing out what I discovered when I removed a chunk of flagstone (to actually use) from our yard, to discover tunnels and a very tidy grainery of sorts. The little grass seeds were stacked SO neatly, it was amazing. I felt very bad I was clearly messing up someone's winter storage plans, but it was early enough in the season, I figured they'd have time to implement a plan B.

Until next time...biobabbler