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Comment by Cathie on November 18, 2013 at 2:20pm

Here on the central coast of California, also heard coyotes nearby last night. We're surrounded by scrub dunes, have lots of racoons, possums, hawks, and other wildlife. I like hearing coyotes' strange barksong howls, but it does make me wonder what they've got.

Comment by Linda on November 17, 2013 at 10:08am

Jane...ouch!  That's a lot of money to dig that deep. As much rain as we have had this past summer plus the tons of water from TS Irene and Lee 2 years ago and superstorm Sandy last year we still have drought conditions.

Comment by Jane Christensen on November 17, 2013 at 8:39am

Yuck Linda....we have 2 places, 2 septic systems and 2 wells. We had to redo our old septic system...$$$$$$. As for wells the water gets worse every year and we use bottled water at the one...next well will have to be about 250' deep:( Now with all the irrigating the farmers do we will have to go as deep as they do. talk about a waste...they do tiling to drain the water and then irrigate cuz it's too dry.

Comment by Linda on November 17, 2013 at 7:31am

Jane...we did try to trap him anyways.  Mark goes thru a lot of orchard country on the way to worl at 4:30 am and he would have dropped him off.  Little stinker managed to snap the trap without him in it.  Thankfully living in the city I sewer and city water!  We are planning ot move to the Chattanooga, TN area when Mark retires...our daughter lives down there...and I told him I will NOT buy a place that has a spetic or well.  Had a spetic back up and flood my bathroom many many years ago and will never go thru that again.

Comment by Jane Christensen on November 16, 2013 at 11:59pm

Linda...we can't trap either but in the country and having coons eat my cat food all the time and get the water dirty...I had the opportunity and I took it...figured if I did get bit then I'd have to explain this but luckily this little guy wanted to get away from me as much as I wanted him to go:)

I had a tree frog in my garage this summer...we had a very dry year so I haven't seen many frogs except for on the roads when it rained.

As for skunks I can smell when they have walked through the yard but they don't like it here because of the dogs. Years ago I had the cutest baby skunk and he decided to walk toward my 1st Bella(non corgi) and she would back up...he had his tail in the air but could not spray yet...thank goodness!!!!!! Got this on video too.

As for sprays I never use anything toxic either. Cayenne pepper works for many garden plants and vinegar for weeds. I have bought 20% acidic vinegar also but that kills anything it touches so you have to be very careful. I actually make my own laundry soap too! We have a septic system and chemicals aren't good.

I would love to have a pond but I'm afraid all we'd have in it would be leaves!

Comment by Linda on November 16, 2013 at 10:37pm

Jane...we can't trap and relocate animals here in NYS or at least not in this area of NY.  We wanted to with the raccoon that took our koi but we had to resort to coyote urine in vials placed aroung the pond area.  I had no idea they sold things like that (or bobcat urine) at Agway.   Can't relocate because of rabies and I would never shoot them...even if I was so inclined I would end up in jail for discharging a fireaem in the city...as mad has he made me he was only doing what comes naturally.

A couple of years ago I found a baby skunk on my neighbor's patio.  I called the SPCA and they wouldn't help, I called the police, they wouldn't help.  He was just a little baby out in the daytime, too young to be away from mama so I figured she was most likely dead and he went looking for food.  I took the little guy and finally got hold of a wildlife rehab place and took him there.  The next day my neighbor called me to come over, she had another one.  Took that one to the rehab place too.  Thet sure are cute little things but even as little babies they can smell...thankfully not as bad as an adult.

Comment by Linda on November 16, 2013 at 10:28pm

Anna....butterflies I do get!  I am a gardener...postage stamp yard but at my age now that is fine with me.  I plant for butterflies and hummingbirds. I don't use chemicals to control insects. I hate spiders with a passion but if they move in near a rosebush I leave them be to control aphids, otherwise I use a spray of water, baking soda with a drop of dish liquid for bugs.

We have had a small pond for 30 years and this year for for the very first time we have a frog!  Where he came from I haven't a clue...I'm in the middle of the city with no natural body of water or a swamp anywhere near me.  I've had fun watching him grow over the summer and googled to find out what I can do to provide him with a place to winter over.  I sure hope he makes and he's around next summer.

Comment by Jane Christensen on November 16, 2013 at 9:32pm

We have tons of raccoons all over...I caught a young one in my live trap while I was catching my shed cats to take to the other place this year...I don't know who was more scared the young coon or me and I'm sure it was quite the sight when I let him out as I had a piece of plywood covering my legs so if he would have come after me I would have some protection. We have opossum all over too...certain time of year there are many on the road dead also.

They actually opened up wolf season in northern MN this year after being on the endangered list for many years.

I have seen Grosebekes but not sure I did this year they usually come around Mother's Day on their way up north. Bees are less here but they use so many insecticides in this farm country that it's horrible! Without bees we can't exist!

I miss seeing fox...they might be around but haven't seen any for a couple years:(

Coyotes are out yipping tonight but a bit further away...we have deer hunting and there's probably lots of guts around and possibly wounded deer for them...I have been yelling (when I hear them) so they stay away from here...good thing I don't live in town or people would think I'm nuts!

Comment by Anna Morelli on November 16, 2013 at 7:17pm

@Linda, we miss thins when they are gone..... that's if we've had the good fortune to experience that way of life in the first place.  We still have a lot of birds and wildlife here, what I rarely see now anywhere are the butterflies.

Comment by Linda on November 16, 2013 at 12:10pm

Anna...I do hate to see so many of the natural species being driven out of their territory.  I live in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.  All the natural preditors have been driven out of this area for a very long time.  As a result we have a huge deer population...many times what it was when Henry Hudson first sailed up the Hudson River.  They have become a big problem in this area.  Many deer/car accidents...DH totaled one truck to a deer, thank goodness he wasn't hurt...DH that is not the deer. Damage not only to ornamental landscaping but the Hudson Valley has many orchards, vineyards and corn farms that lose a lot to deer.  People don't hunt like they use to either so we have sick deer surviving our winters and reproducing..there are no longer any checks and balances to keep the deer population in check.

We no longer have wovles and cougars at all, the coyote population has taken a hard hit also but since they can survive more readily on things like mice they are not gone completely.  There was talk of re-indroducing wolves back into the mountains but the Catskills have become a large ski and tourist area especially for NYC..we are only 1.5 hours north of the city..that was squashed.  We do still have a good population of bears but that brings lots of problem for resdients and bears with the bears losing out.

I live right in the city of Kingston...which has been here since the 1600s when the Dutch settled this area of NY.  When we first moved into our house..33 years ago..one of the things I loved was the birdwatching from windows. We had a big platform feeder off the kitchen window.  All sorts of different birds....but now I haven't seen a groesbeek in over 20 years.  We have always had raccoons, woodchucks, skunks and opossums.  Raccoons have raided my backyard pond and gutted my 10 year old koi all over my yard...haven't seen any coons in many years now.  Same with woodchucks...my first corgi tried to have it out with a woodchuck who was attempting to make a den in the dog run.  Over the years my dogs have faced off with opossums but haven't seen any in a very long time.  I still see or rather smell skunks but not as often as we did.

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