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Post by sbell on Jun 27, 2010 22:50:48 GMT
My daughter spotted it in about 2 seconds--and it appears to be a Wild Republic Megatherium. COOKIE for sbell and daughter (what's her name?). Okay, a little more difficult: Identify at least three different species of flora you can see in the pic (no, saying "grass" doesn't count). Some are native, some are exotic. ;D Her name is Cambria. Given that she is 2 1/2, I'm not going to tell her about the cookie until I have one handy. They just don't get metaphor or allusion very well! As for plants--ptthhh.  |
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Post by Radman on Jun 27, 2010 22:53:07 GMT
A close-up:  |
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Post by sbell on Jun 27, 2010 22:57:19 GMT
For the record, my son (Logan, 6) spotted it in 10 seconds, and identified it!
My gods, what have I done to my children...
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Post by Radman on Jun 27, 2010 23:16:59 GMT
Cambria is a delightful name!
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Post by hajime on Jul 17, 2010 3:30:07 GMT
Wild Northern Water Snake eating a toad at a place called Maymont in Richmond VA. Awesome place, I recommend anyone goes if you're nearby. First time I've seen a wild snake.... It's not like I've never been anywhere with them, so who knows why it took so long.  A... skink of some kind taken at the same place. I saw a HUGE one at a theme park (wild) the other week too. It was maybe 8 or so inches, but looked the same as this one.  Wild skunk in my friends backyard. Seen a few of these now. Is it normal for skunks to not run away from people?  And some young raccoons in a tree. SO CUTE. There wee 6 eating pears on the floor, but when I went out to take pics they ran up the tree and stayed there for hours. Aw. Click the link below to see them... twitpic.com/25360cWish I had pics of opossums to show. They are my favourite American mammal (marsupial, whatever, before you try and be clever). I don't understand why people hate them so much, they are fascinatingly stupid looking. I've only seen two since I've been here and neither have played dead for me. Bah! |
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Post by paleoferroequine on Jul 17, 2010 5:27:19 GMT
Skunks are often agnostic about humans if they haven't had bad experiences plus their defenses tend to make them even more fearless. They will challenge cars, once. Possums, yeah, well my wife thinks they're adorable  I don't think so, they smell bad  . And no, not after they met the skunks  And we got raccoons too and armadillos and deer and foxes. And most of them want to eat the cat food. |
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Post by hajime on Jul 17, 2010 19:03:40 GMT
I know opossums smell when they play dead. It's part of their defense, to smell like they are rotting. Foxes also have a horrible odour. So why all the opossum hate? And it's Opossum... not possum, possums live in Australia. |
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Post by paleoferroequine on Jul 17, 2010 19:53:35 GMT
I know opossums smell when they play dead. It's part of their defense, to smell like they are rotting. Foxes also have a horrible odour. So why all the opossum hate? And it's Opossum... not possum, possums live in Australia. Yes I know its opossum, but in a lot of areas here in the states it just gets shortened to possum, easier to say. Besides saying it as possum probably predates the Aussie way by quite a bit. Opossum hate? Well, maybe not hate but in towns like ours they can get to be quite a nuisance just doing what they do naturally. They scavenge everything and get into the garbage cans and gardens. And you can't scare them away, they're too dumb. They and the armadillos litter the roads and attract more scavenging opossums and the cycle repeats. Their numbers are very high along with the raccoons and skunks here since there are no dogs running around at night due to leash laws. I came onto the porch one time and there was a raccoon and a skunk eating the cat food at the same time and the cats were just sitting there a few feet away watching! Those same gardens attract white tail deer which ravage what's left. Now, the whole town's not like that but it can get bad.. Don't get me wrong, I love the wildlife, just wish it wasn't so thick sometimes! ;D In many ways the raccoons are worse, they climb and get into attics all the time, we had one mother take up residence in our fireplace chimney to raise her young. Its was summer so we let her get them bigger before having someone relocate her. Noisy though |
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Post by hajime on Jul 18, 2010 0:50:12 GMT
Yeah my friends place here has problems with wildlife eating the cat food, but it's mostly stray cats that are an issue.
If you don't like the wildlife coming up to the porch, why not let your cat eat inside?
We chased an opossum last month away from the cat food and I had NO idea they could run as fast as it did. I was hoping it would play dead so I could get good photos. lol Plus, I guess it's good to give them a fear of humans so they stay further away. We've not seen it since... Guess it worked? You try it.
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Post by paleoferroequine on Jul 18, 2010 1:50:26 GMT
Yeah my friends place here has problems with wildlife eating the cat food, but it's mostly stray cats that are an issue. If you don't like the wildlife coming up to the porch, why not let your cat eat inside? We chased an opossum last month away from the cat food and I had NO idea they could run as fast as it did. I was hoping it would play dead so I could get good photos. lol Plus, I guess it's good to give them a fear of humans so they stay further away. We've not seen it since... Guess it worked? You try it. Um, well, I have a little princess inside (a polydactyl torty) who objects to other cats indoors. The opossums are not afraid and won't move even if you shove them with your foot. They just hiss at you. My wife came out on the porch one time and in the junipers on both sides of the porch were six opossums staring at her! I had a "teenage" raccoon in the same bushes about a foot away from my face and he didn't do much either until I said boo and he backed down slowly and walked away. Even if you do scare them off, they come back an hour later. And I'm not about to shove the skunks with my foot |
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Post by hajime on Jul 18, 2010 2:13:40 GMT
Yeah, the skunks I wouldn't.
Maybe it's worth getting a water pistol to scare them off?
Strange cuz the raccoons and opossums here in Virginia run... lol.
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Post by paleoferroequine on Jul 18, 2010 2:47:27 GMT
Yeah, the skunks I wouldn't. Maybe it's worth getting a water pistol to scare them off? Strange cuz the raccoons and opossums here in Virginia run... lol. Well , of course, both battles of Bull Run were in Virginia and even 148 years later the legacy remains. Must be northern coons and possums! ;D |
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Post by hajime on Jul 18, 2010 4:59:17 GMT
Well, where population density increases animals tend to be more ballsy I guess. You should meet a London fox. In the broad daylight. nutsting on your garden furniture.
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Post by Radman on Jul 25, 2010 17:13:36 GMT
Io moth ( Automeris io)  I prodded her gently and she flashed her eyespots:  She was reluctant to fly in the daytime, so she crawled around on my finger instead. I put her back in the tree and she was gone as soon as dusk fell.  |
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Post by Himmapaan on Jul 25, 2010 17:23:02 GMT
Fantastic! |
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Post by Radman on Jul 27, 2010 20:42:35 GMT
Squirrel treefrog, Hyla squirrella.   This little fella is only about an inch long. |
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Post by Radman on Jul 30, 2010 21:50:04 GMT
Wheel bug:  This is perhaps the largest terrestrial predatory true bug in North America. It is quite distinctive by virtue of the half cogwheel structure on its back, a la Spinosaurus. I was happy to see this guy on my ornamental palm, as you can see it is being ravaged by grasshoppers. Kinda hard to see in this picture, but the red thing protruding from its face is its beak, probably 1/8 to 1/4 inch (~1/2 cm) long, with which it can inflict a vicious bite. Don't try to pick these up! Anyway, a highly beneficial insect, a member of the assassin bug family, and a cool thing to see at any time.  |
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Post by [][][]cordylus[][][] on Jul 31, 2010 3:06:52 GMT
Best things I have around here are common garter snakes (checkerboard pattern and striped), american toads, green frogs, and leopard frogs. Sometimes you'll see a redspotted salamander smashed in the road, or a small snapping or painted turtle in the duckweed. Back in Iowa there's only bullfrogs, painted turtles, the occasional american toad (I've seen four in my ten years living there - three were babies last month), and the occasional garter snake (only seen 5 of them).
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Post by Himmapaan on Jul 31, 2010 9:28:19 GMT
The wheel bug is extraordinary.
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Post by paleoferroequine on Jul 31, 2010 16:21:24 GMT
The wheel bug is extraordinary. Yes it is. Here in Missouri we often get cycles of insect density each summer. Sometimes it will be the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) when at night there are hundreds out doors in any given location flying around. Or maybe one year it's crickets or ladybugs. However, sometimes it will be wheel bugs. At night around lights there can be upward of 30 or so of these bugs crawling on buildings or walls or a bunch of them on your car. Which reminds me, when I was a kid I swear I used to see a solid black wheel bug with red on the wheel but I can't find out any info on them but my memory might be faulty. ;D |
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I don't think so, they smell bad 
. And no, not after they met the skunks 
And we got raccoons too and armadillos and deer and foxes. And most of them want to eat the cat food. 
![[][][]cordylus[][][] Avatar](http://files.sharenator.com/Troll_Face_U_MAD_RE_wrestling_1-s407x405-126802.jpg)
