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Post by Artiespet on Jun 29, 2009 12:43:51 GMT -8
He had every right to be annoyed with you if you disturbed him! And then you had the gall to take a picture of him to commemorate the event? Shame on you, Pet! You should have been humbly begging his forgiveness.  Yeah I'll get RIIIGHT on that one! I'm the one who feeds him and sneaks him extra kitty treats and buys him his own package of deli sliced meat you'd think HE would be begging my forgiveness lol |
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Post by Artiespet on Jun 29, 2009 12:46:44 GMT -8
Look at this amazing picture. Our friend CAP from the Lost World board lives in a suburb of Minneapolis, with some woods nearby. She gets squirrels, raccoons, deer, and other critters coming to her patio for the food she puts out. She told me a couple of days ago that an albino squirrel had showed up, and I said, uh-huh, what have you been ingesting? So she took this with her camera phone. actually knowing CAP she probably just airbrushed his color off...she's been eating the food she puts out for the animals LOL That's a cool picture |
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Jun 29, 2009 13:11:11 GMT -8
Wade and I saw an albino squirrel in November of 1994 in Washington DC. I forgot all about that until now! Kind of neat!
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Post by California gal on Jun 29, 2009 13:31:49 GMT -8
CAP and I have been discussing how this unusual critter is probably at a huge disadvantage in the wild. For one thing, he doesn't have the camouflage to help protect him from predators. And it's also possible that his fellow squirrels chase him away. She said he was eating ravenously and hardly noticed that she was near enough to take the pictures.
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Paradox Eyes
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Post by Paradox Eyes on Jun 29, 2009 15:30:05 GMT -8
How beautiful he is!! I've never seen an albino squirrel before either. We have a lot of solid black ones here. My husband thought he saw a cream colored one once, maybe that was an albino of some sort. That picture CAP took is great. Thanks for sharing!  |
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Paradox Eyes
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Post by Paradox Eyes on Jun 29, 2009 15:33:59 GMT -8
Pet, thats an excellent picture of Duke. He looks so stately and regal. I'm sure he expects you to bow before him!!  |
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Post by Artiespet on Jun 29, 2009 17:22:45 GMT -8
Yeah well a snowball has a better chance in Hades than Duke does getting me to bow before him LOL
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Post by Kit on Jun 30, 2009 5:43:42 GMT -8
Paradox I have more room in the summer in the winter lets just say it could be 20 below in the house and I wouldn't get cold... Cal GAl I have that same problem in the winter both dogs and the three cats want to help keep mommy warm LOL
Alika they are cutie babies.....
DT loved the shot, yep it is amazing what we will give up for the comfort of our Four Legged Children....
Pet I have a cat that looks at me like that LOL
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Post by Double Take on Aug 1, 2009 15:02:37 GMT -8
Not exactly critters, but I wanted to share these with my friends. This is one of my favorite orchids. It blooms twice a year in spite of my neglect. It out did itself this year. I have never had 7 blooms on one spike. Normally it only has 2 or 3, maybe 4 ...but 7!  These 2 pictures are actually of 2 different flower spikes on the same orchid. The darker pink has 4 flowers and is a few days older, the larger spray will darken up a little over the next few days. |
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Post by California gal on Aug 1, 2009 15:24:04 GMT -8
Oh, they are beautiful. I used to know a professor whose hobby was orchids. He had some fabulous ones. I've never tried to grow orchids but I like to see them.
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Paradox Eyes
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Post by Paradox Eyes on Aug 1, 2009 16:03:57 GMT -8
Oh DT what beautifl Cattleyas!! Are they fragrant at a certain time of the day? Do you have others?
I love orchids. I used to grow them and I belonged to an Orchid Society for a few years. I don't have them anymore but I used to have them all over the house and outside in the summer. It's something I'd like to take up again when/if I ever retire. Thank you for sharing these pictures!
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Post by Double Take on Aug 1, 2009 16:40:47 GMT -8
Oh DT what beautifl Cattleyas!! Are they fragrant at a certain time of the day? Do you have others? I love orchids. I used to grow them and I belonged to an Orchid Society for a few years. I don't have them anymore but I used to have them all over the house and outside in the summer. It's something I'd like to take up again when/if I ever retire. Thank you for sharing these pictures! Florida and orchids go well together (humidity!). These cattleyas only have a very faint fragrance in the evening, not like the big cattleyas they use in corsages. I have two other cattleyas, one of which should bloom for the first time soon (first time since I have had it). I also have quite a number of dendrobiums, dancing ladies (I can't think what they are called) and two terrestrial orchids. I buy most of them in the dead plant section of the local gardening stores (as soon as the flowers fade, they discount them). Then when they bloom it is a pleasant surprise. I have never been disappointed. |
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Post by Paradox Eyes on Aug 1, 2009 16:50:31 GMT -8
That's how my friend and I used to get some of our orchids too. The Lowes here had quite an extensive variety back then. We'd wait until they let them practically die and then put them on the clearance table. We'd nurse them back to health and hardly lost any. It's really amazing how much abuse they can take and still come back. I used to read a lot of history on them. The poor things would be ripped loose and packed in crates for weeks back in the 1800's when people were exploring and sending them back for research and greenhouses.
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Post by California gal on Aug 1, 2009 17:09:42 GMT -8
Last summer I bought a fuchsia from a local nursery that looked like it was on its last legs--but it was half price. The guy told me to trim it, feed it, and water it. I did that and it came out with a profusion of pinkish orange blooms, survived the winter, and is blooming still. Sometimes it pays to take a chance. I've bought healthy-looking plants that barely survived the season!
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 1, 2009 18:55:59 GMT -8
Gorgeous! I don't have a green thumb at all, and unfortunately neither does Wade. Our yard gets cut, maybe weed whacked...and I plant a few flowers in a spot in the back yard. We're hopeless. Maybe someday...the kids like to take care of the veggie garden.
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Post by California gal on Aug 9, 2009 11:03:14 GMT -8
I got a new couch delivered Friday, and both cats appear to have given it their seal of approval... |
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Post by Dieter on Aug 9, 2009 12:54:22 GMT -8
Last night I caught a fat raccoon dragging a nearly full 20 pound bag of dog food more than half way out of my garage. He did a weird growling noise when he saw me and ran off. My son closed the garage door to keep him out. This morning when I got up,I saw my garage and attached bonus room were basically trashed with dog food bag ripped up, stuff knocked over everywhere on work bench, computer desk in bonus room, pictures hanging knocked off the wall, dvd and vcr knocked off the tv in bonus room, little kid mini foam couch-bed knocked out of garage rafters onto garage floor. Obviously I had more than 1 raccoon in my garage! They are freakin destructive!!! And its not the first time! Its happened before and I've seen them in packs of 4 or 5 roaming around my house! I better keep my garage door closed more often when it gets dark!!!! |
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Post by California gal on Aug 9, 2009 13:00:39 GMT -8
Oh, yeah. Raccoons are clever critters. Hard to keep them out of anything they are determined to raid.
Always puzzled me though, that when we had regular garbage cans in years gone by, they were able to lift the lids off and get at whatever was in side. When the city started providing the special carts on wheels for the trucks to hoist, it appeared that the lift-up tops baffled the coons. We had the critters in the neighborhood, but they never again got into the garbage carts to my knowledge.
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Dieter
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Post by Dieter on Aug 9, 2009 13:36:55 GMT -8
Occasionally I find the newer type trash cans raided in my backyard only when I have so much piled up that the lid is not completely closed anymore. They still know how to jump in somehow and get to whatever they can when it's slightly open. I'm glad I never opened one up to find a raccoon in the can munching on stuff before I take them out for the trash pickup every Thursday!!!! ;D
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Post by Double Take on Aug 9, 2009 17:52:33 GMT -8
I got a new couch delivered Friday, and both cats appear to have given it their seal of approval... That was very considerate of you to order a nice comfy new couch for the cats...I am glad they approve or you would have had to return it and try again. My last new living room set I made sure the couch was comfortable to lie on for me and the chair was big enough for my 90 lb shepherd to sleep in. The chair has remained a favorite for successive dogs. |
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Post by California gal on Aug 9, 2009 18:00:39 GMT -8
Brandy in particular has decided the chaise section is just perfect for her. She does leave me a little edge for my legs though. Very generous of her. |
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Post by California gal on Aug 10, 2009 15:15:10 GMT -8
I have a backyard filled with birds. They come for the spread i put out for them, and seem to stay to play. One of the things they like to do is to perch atop my peach and apple trees and sway in the breeze. It's their "Tilt-a-Whirl," I guess. Mostly lesser goldfinches, an occasional American goldfinch, house finches, and various sparrows, but occasionally blackbirds join them. I've seen doves try to, but they are too heavy for the slim branches.  |
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Post by Double Take on Aug 10, 2009 17:43:10 GMT -8
Oh, that's cool! I would spend hours watching them.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 11, 2009 9:40:11 GMT -8
Wow Cal Gal! Awesome! I love the goldfinches...I hardly ever see them anywhere. We have a family of cardinals, blue jays, and sparrows (I think). I think they are gone already too, those sparrows. The birdhouses seem fairly quiet these days.
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Post by Artiespet on Aug 11, 2009 15:40:44 GMT -8
Wow Cal Gal! Awesome! I love the goldfinches...I hardly ever see them anywhere. We have a family of cardinals, blue jays, and sparrows (I think). I think they are gone already too, those sparrows. The birdhouses seem fairly quiet these days. When you were you we didn't have time to go look for some. They are not our state bird for nothing! they are everywhere here. |
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Aug 27, 2009 16:53:47 GMT -8
Update on Darla the kitty...she has decided that my middle daughter is her person, and let's her hold her like a baby. Yesterday my husband brought Darla upstairs and deposited her on my lap where she stayed contentedly for an hour. Then she spent the next hour snoozing at the other end of the couch before she took off for her safe haven--the basement! She wants to be around us, and after we all went to bed last night she was calling for us for about 5 minutes before she gave up! (The dog still drives her crazy.)
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Post by California gal on Aug 27, 2009 17:05:09 GMT -8
That's sweet. It just took time.
When I was a little girl, we got a kitten and she turned out to be MY kitty. Her name was Bristlepuss, or B.P. for short. I could carry her all over and she would let me push her around in my doll buggy!
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Post by California gal on Aug 27, 2009 17:41:54 GMT -8
Earlier when I posted the pix of the frolicking finches, I mentioned that doves sometimes like to try the ride. Today I caught one at it. It managed to hang onto a branch and bobble for a short while. This is a ringed turtledove, which is half again larger than most mourning doves. You can compare the size with the finch in the second picture! The turtledove is in the upper right in the first picture. |
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Post by Paradox Eyes on Aug 31, 2009 1:41:53 GMT -8
Man I keep forgetting to check this thread. Love the shot of the cats claiming their new sofa ;D!
And the shots of the birds in the tree tops are really nice. Are you noticing an increase in the bird population in your area with all the fires going on in the distance? I often wonder if birds and other wildlife return to their prior territories when everything is scorched or if they simply move on to claim other territory. I know a lot of ground animals lose their lives but it seems like the birds would get out ok except for the nestlings. Those fires are just so sad on every level.
Hope all you folks near them are faring alright.
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Paradox Eyes
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Post by Paradox Eyes on Aug 31, 2009 1:52:19 GMT -8
Update on Darla the kitty...she has decided that my middle daughter is her person, and let's her hold her like a baby. Yesterday my husband brought Darla upstairs and deposited her on my lap where she stayed contentedly for an hour. Then she spent the next hour snoozing at the other end of the couch before she took off for her safe haven--the basement! She wants to be around us, and after we all went to bed last night she was calling for us for about 5 minutes before she gave up! (The dog still drives her crazy.) Awww...Darla is doing so well!! I'm really happy for you and her. When I was very little, like 4, I used to play that way with my mom's old calico "MaPuss". I'd dress her up in baby clothes and roll her around in the doll carriage too. When she had enough, she'd swat me in the head, never using her claws. My mom would say "Alright she's tired now, undress her and let her go." Funny...she'd always come back the next day and we'd do it again.  |
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These 2 pictures are actually of 2 different flower spikes on the same orchid. The darker pink has 4 flowers and is a few days older, the larger spray will darken up a little over the next few days.
