Tag Archives: animals

Weekly Photo Challenge: Close

Posted on by
1

This is Dusty and how he looks to me when I am in the backyard with him. Describing him a “Velcro” dog is an understatement. (A “Velcro” dog is a term used by agility handlers for dogs who won’t leave the handler’s side.) It’s impossible for me to walk in a straight line, as he constantly darts in front of me to get my attention. By the time I get to the far end of the yard, I have travelled twice the distance due to my efforts to go around him.

It’s always something …

Dusty a yellow Labrador Retriever

Pet me, feed me, throw something!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Close

Bat Slobber

Posted on by
Reply

In my jogging days (back when I was young and in my 40s), I often jogged on the Town Lake trail. (Town Lake is now known as Lady Bird Lake.) It’s a wonderful trail, a set of loops, actually, with the longest loop measuring 10 miles. Depending on where you start and how far you want to jog, you can choose from a 3-mile, 4-mile, 5-mile, or 10-mile loop. You can mix-and-match or just do an up-and-back jaunt.

It’s wonderfully shaded, well maintained, has distance markers, and restrooms and water fountains. It crosses under the Ann W. Richards Bridge (formerly known as Congress Avenue Bridge), among others. What makes the Ann W. Richards Bridge famous is the Mexican Free-Tailed bat colony that lives on the underside of the bridge. It’s the world’s largest urban bat colony.

The bat colony is one of Austin’s tourist attractions. It’s quite a sight when they leave the bridge at dusk. Hmm, somehow the returning of the bats at dawn doesn’t seem to be as much of an attraction. Austin’s former professional ice hockey team was named the Ice Bats. Austin has all kinds of t-shirts, mugs, and postcards with the bats on them.

The bats live under the bridge from spring to fall, March to November. The jogging trail passes under the bridge and therefore so did I, when jogging that particular loop. On one particular uncoordinated occasion, I stumbled over a pebble while jogging under the bridge, and fell.

Ow. I scraped my hands and knees. Nothing to worry about, I thought, until I noticed where I was: underneath the bat colony. I could hear them and I could smell them. I wondered if I had fallen into some bat slobber — or worse. I washed my hands and knees thoroughly when I got home. Several times. That was years ago, so I’m guessing that there was nothing in the bat slobber to make me sick. But if you’re ever in Austin and underneath the bat colony, watch your step so that you don’t fall!

Longhorn, Session 2

Posted on by
2

Ticka and I worked on our longhorn appliques last weekend. My longhorn, Dippity-Do, now has ears, eyes and a mouth. After session two, he’s starting to look like a longhorn. Here’s what he looked like after Session 1.

Longhorn applique, head finished

I can see clearly now!

I’ve nicknamed Ticka’s longhorn “Freckles.” Here’s Freckles and Dippity-Do next to each other. Ticka actually finished her longhorn body in session two and will start working on the background next time. My next step is to put together the longhorn body.

Two longhorn applique heads, one with freckles, one without

Freckles and Dippity-Do

Squirrel Snacks

Posted on by
Reply

I heard a crunching noise yesterday as I came out of my office building for my morning walk around the Texas Capitol. I looked around, couldn’t see the source. Then I looked down. Oh . . .

Squirrel chewing on the base of a flag pole

Yummy flag pole!

Yes, indeed. The squirrel was gnawing at the base of the flag pole. Both flag pole bases have squirrel scars (and holes).

Another flag pole base with a hole in it, that the squirrel chewed

Two flag pole bases are better than one!

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

I’m thinking that this guy must have had a squirrel problem, all those years ago.

Sphinx of Giza

Sphinx of Giza (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Snake-Proof Gaiters

Posted on by
2
Snake Proof Gaiters

All dressed up

I now own a pair of snake-proof gaiters. I bought them at Cabela’s after I found a snake immediately outside my back door.

The dogs found the snake, actually, not me. I could hear their barking-at-something bark and went to investigate. I expected to see them at the fence, looking out at the road at a loose dog or someone riding by on a bicycle or horse.

Wrong again.

They were in a pack formation, four dogs gathered around a snake coiled up in the corner. Somehow I managed to call the dogs off and got them in the house. I was worried that it was a rattlesnake and that the dogs had been bitten. Over the years, we’ve had at least six dogs with rattlesnake bites. (They all survived their snake bites. Most had been vaccinated for just such an occurrence, but even the ones that weren’t vaccinated survived because we got them to the vet in time.) I was also worried about what I was going to do with a rattlesnake outside my back door. I couldn’t just shoo it away or leave a trail of treats to coax it to leave the yard in the direction that was best for both of us.

Snake Catching Stick

Snake Catching Stick

Fortunately, it wasn’t a rattlesnake. It wasn’t any kind of poisonous snake. However, it was still a snake, a full-grown snake — probably a rat snake — and it was still in the corner of the house right outside my back door. I retrieved the snake-catching noose that hubby put together a few years ago.

I caught the snake in the noose. Then I realized I had not opened any gate and now I had my hands full. I had to put the snake back in the corner, open a gate, then recapture the snake.

It was at least four feet long and it did not like being in that noose. It coiled and coiled around the noose while I carried it out to the front pond, apologizing to it all the way, hoping I wasn’t hurting it, but explaining that I couldn’t leave it where it was. I let it go and wished it well.

Snake Catching Noose

Snake Catching Noose

.
That evening I went to Cabela’s and bought my newest fashion accessories: snake-proof gaiters. The information on the tag said that the gaiters were successful in guarding against simulated snake bites.

That’s odd, because all the snake bites around my house are real.