Monday, August 22nd, 2011
I used to like the squirrels in my yard.
During the summer months, I generally cut back a bit on the bird food I put out. During the winter months the feeders are always full, but when there is so much natural food around, I put a smaller amount into the feeders, and do it less often.
This has been my habit for many summers. Now, however, we seem to have Destructo Squirrel living in the yard.
If there is no food in the feeder when this rodent squirrel wants it, as in Right NOW, he proceeds to destroy the feeder. We’ve gone through three feeders within a month – here’s the first one that went.
And the second casualty…
Used to have four sides...
How do I know it’s the same bloody rodent squirrel every time? I don’t really, but I have narrowed it down to the perp being a large black squirrel, which are less common in the yard than the grey morph. There is one particularly large black male that gives me a very evil leer when the feeders are empty. I have this image of him going for my throat…
Even when there is food available, the plastic feeders are munched on and whittled down to where they won’t even hang up any more. He somehow managed to get this feeder on the ground, with seed scattered everywhere. Then he was happy.
Of course, I could solve the problem by keeping easy-squirrel-access feeders full all the time. But that would be giving in to blackmail. The next thing you know, the bloody rodents squirrels would be sitting at the dining room table being served peanut and seed casserole on a platter.
No, much better to stand my ground and buy non-destructible metal and glass feeders. It’s the principle of the thing, after all. What’s a few hundred dollars in bird feeders compared to the warm glow of standing up for my principles?
Bloody squirrels rodents…
Monday, July 18th, 2011
If it’s summer in Alberta, then Highway 40 must be open.
This magnificent drive, an hour west of the city, meanders along the eastern slopes of the Kananaskis Range of the Rocky Mountains. The highest point of the drive is Highwood Pass, at 2210 m (7250 ft), the highest point in Canada that can be reached by a paved highway. Due to winter weather conditions, this highway is closed from Dec 1 to June 15.
We make a point of doing this beautiful drive each summer, and headed out last Friday at 6:00 am.
Our first wildlife sighting was three young white-tailed deer by the side of the road.
As we got closer, we realized there was something darker standing behind the deer.
Two young long-legged moose, which were likely siblings.
We thought at first they were drinking, but as we sat there and watched them, we realized they were all actually eating the mud, which must have contained some sort of mineral deposit. The moose eventually melted into the thick forest, but the deer could have cared less that they were being watched from about 3 feet away.
Our next wildlife sighting was the species we were looking for, but didn’t really expect to see. This grizzly bear was browsing right beside the road, and didn’t seem very interested in us either. She looked up when we stopped, then went back to eating. She munched for about 10 minutes, then calmly turned and headed into the forest behind her.
We continued on our drive, exclaiming over the fact we had actually seen the animal we were looking for. As we drove, we noticed two cow elk up on the side of a hill.
A few kilometres down the road we spotted more bears – a mother grizzly and her cub.
As we got closer to the end of the drive, four white tailed deer bounded across the highway in front of us. We slowed right down in case more were following, and discovered we had stopped right beside a large Columbian ground squirrel colony.
As we sat there watching them watching us, a beautiful white-tailed doe cautiously approached the clearing. She eyed us warily for a few minutes, then proceeded to follow her herd members across the road.
We continued on our way, absolutely replete with wildlife sightings for one morning. And that, my friends, is why we make a point of driving Highway 40 each summer.
Click the pictures if you want a larger view. Tomorrow I’ll post some scenery pictures from the trip – stay tuned!
