I'm guessing that your violets may be due to ants. Violet seeds are very high in fat and prized for winter storage by the six-legged set.
As for "Unbearable" Wildlife:
http://www.poconorecord.com/topstory/tp120605_3.htm
A newcomer from New Jersey arrived in the Poconos in November. Yesterday he sent his kids out to play in the snow. When they came in (probably with snowy feet) yelling, "Daddy, Daddy there's a bear under the porch" they were scolded.
As it turns out there is a 600-700 bear denning up under the porch. Arrangements are underway to tranquilize the critter and move him out to the wilderness.
One Touch of Nature Makes the Whole World Kin.
Jespah, tell me more about the gathering. I've got some other stuff going on the 14th, so it might not work timewise. But then again it might.
I used to work in Concord, MA, and took the commuter rail there often. The railroad runs by one end of Walden Pond, where Henry Thoreau mused on nature and mankind. The tracks have been there since about 1840, before Henry walked out to the pond (well, not actually the same tracks--or the same trains--they've upgraded since then, tho sometimes it doesn't seem to go any faster, but still in the same place). Going by the pond, I'd see red-tailed hawks circling, looking for prey, which was exposed crossing the tracks from one side of the forest to the other. Thoreau saw the hawks then too (and marveled at the RR as wonderful progress). I figure my hawks were great-great-great-great (a hundred times or so) -grand-kids of the ones Henry saw, coexisting, if uneasily, with humans for a century and a half, in the midst of increasing suburbanization. You go, Ma Nature.
Gatherin' topic:
http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=55432
Ah, Concord, I've been there; I drive by it (and all those Rte. 2 towns) every day. I work in lovely Burlington.
I'm in the city, so nothing as exciting as the stuff above
We have a resident, very noisy, flock of about 2 dozen sparrows as we feed them throughout the year, a couple of wrens, a pair of blackbirds, some magpies around and about, a couple of collared doves and the occasional townie pigeon. There's a fox who is occasionally seen, we are obviously part of his territory. The there's a nasty vicious feral tomcat who terrorises our 2 cats and defies us until we turn a hosepipe on him! Oh an our hedgehog visitors but they are hibernating now.
We see a lot of morning doves -- is a collared dove the same?
Phoenix32890 wrote:The wood storks are in town. They are so ugly, that they're gorgeous. And you should see them fly! 
I remember seeing a large of wood storks just north of Tampa spiraling up into the sky. It made quite an impression on me. At another time at the same place I saw three bald eagles doing their courtship flights, diving and rolling in the air. Unfortuantely I couldn't stop and watch because I was on I-75.
Walter Hinteler wrote:Besides various normal European birds, we see now very often wild geese around here.
Then about five squirrels (the brown ones, not those grey 'tree rats') visit our backyard/garden regularily in the morning (actually now, two of them).
Rabbits from the park come here, too. And martens and weasels.
The most surpring visitor (but comes very rarely) is an eagle owl, while a little owl is 'living' soemwhere close to us.
(As are a couple of bats, but those aren't to seen now in winter.)
I guess you're referring to the gray squirrels introduced from America. Well, maybe that's payback for your English sparrows and starlings.
Big Black Goldilocks has been evicted:
http://snipurl.com/kl4s
Three strong men tranquilized the critter and loaded him in to a truck for a one way trip to some remote State Game Lands.
BBG has a rep--two years and 150 pounds ago he tried to den up in someone else's building--and it didn't work then, either.
Oof, the bear comes in, hogs the remote, turns the thermostat way down and eats all the clam dip.
Jespah--
The morning newspaper had a full account of the eviction. Six strong men hauled the beast out from under the porch, five pulling from the front and one pushing from behind. The bear had dug himself a comfortable saucer for sleep.
He's being taken to the Promised Land (there is a town in Pike County called "Promised Land" in the back of an unheated panel truck (with hoist) and a dedicated Game Warden will be giving him eye drops every ten minutes so that the tender membranes don't dry out while he tranquilizer is active.
Upon arrival, he'll be unloaded and his escorts will linger in the wilderness to be sure that he wakes up safely. (He could be attacked by coyotes or dogs while unconscious).
Some four-legged creatures are high maintainance.
I never knew a 600 (?) pound bear could be such a delicate little flower. Hmm.
jespah wrote:We see a lot of morning doves -- is a collared dove the same?
dunno! they are slimmer than the pigeons, soft colours and have a sort of pattern of a collar around their necks. As far as I know we just have two types here naturally.
Hmm mourning doves are kind of a dun color. Pretty close in shape to pigeons so maybe it's not the same. Very lovely.
CatFish - I love those pictures. I adore racoons. Poor skunk....
thankee..thankee very much
did you take all of those pictures?
