Beautiful Animals

There are quolls around here, or so I'm told. I've never seen one in the wild nor identifiable scat.

Quolls are outcompeted for territory by ferral cats and foxes.

I've never seen one!

I watched a show on Animal Planet about rearing orphaned marsupials. Included was a wombat, two tasmanian devils, and a quoll. I'd never heard of this animal before. Very, very shy. Lives a solitary life. Highly endangered. Lovely to look at. Checked out quolls online.

That's Rosie's show! Sozlet and I love that show ("Growing up ____") and that's the one with Rosie the wombat, who we both fell completely in love with.

Make that three in loves. LOVED dat wombat. Chose the quoll for this thead cuz we didn't have any.

a tender moment between doberman and pup...

Gorgeous pic, reg. Gorgeous, I tell ya.

Axis deer:

Oh, man, I loooove that dobie photo. Elegant and touching.

Tell us about the lamb-y...

i've got this craving for mint sauce

I almost called it lambie pie..

Hey Osso

Well, this is BLEATING BOB (about 2 weeks old) - lambing has just started over here. His Maaaaaaamaaaaa unfortunately died and he was left bleating in the field. very distressed. My next door neighbours are farmers. They tried to get another MaaMaa to take him on - but there were no takers. So he had to be bottle fed for a couple of weeks until he was a bit stronger - usually its done on the farm - but this littlun needed some TLC - usually the neighbours have at least one or two that they need to bottle feed for a bit. Which meant.... BLEATING BOB was living in next doors garden. My kitties didn't quite know what to make of him.

The nite they got him I heard a lot of bleating going on and thought one of the sheep had got into my garden - to discover that this little fella was next door. So their 10 year old son brought him round for a visit and he came and sat quite calmly in the lounge for an hour or so.

I wanted desperately to adopt him - but have no fencing on the river, (plus 2 dawgs and 2 kitties and it really wouldnt be particularly clever on my part) and he was too little - so S-boy did some bottle feeding and the little boy next door looked after him until he went back to the field last week - (broke his little heart) bottle feeding twice a day. When these lambs feed - they are incredibly forceful - S-boy couldnt believe how hard it was to feed - exhausted him. Bless.

Now.... talking of mint sauce.... they told me that this littlun will end up in the freezer - theirs...... (NOOOOOO!) and actually, I just cant cope with that. So having met him and had him round for a visit - I only went and saw him once more - he did waken me each day for 2 weeks and they have the loveliest sound. Awwwwwwwww - poor BOB.... can't bear the thought of that. I'd be a useless farmer a! Really.... useless.



as an aside coz I'm waffling here.... I NEVER knew the sound their hooves (feet) made. He was like the faun out of Narnia - just a lovely soft hoof sound as he gambolled around their patio. FQsis had a sheep called Choppy for many years (farm in Essex) which was a family pet and came in the kitchen just as the dawgs would - but I didn't recall the sound of the hooves..... and lambs bounce - even on patios.... lovely lovely sound.


So that's the story of BLEATING BOB

Ouch, Izzie. Not gonna be a hypocrite and say how horrible. I eat lamb (although not lately) and pork and beef and chicken. But I am gonna say that on the whole I think I'd rather not be on a first name basis with anything that's going to become my dinner. Hard to deal with that.

Gazelle:

Yep - that's why I couldn't go see him again or feed him - just..... eeeeuw.... poor Bleating Bob. I asked them how they did that - "we're farmers" was the reply - however, C (my beautiful girlie neighbour) said they would get someone else to do the deed and she might not be able to have BOB back in the house as "dinner", as even she had grown attached to him. <will ask what's on the menu if I go next door for dinner >

(lovely lovely people - so pleased they are my neighbours - very special lady and her little fella is just adorable. Very neighbourly, very kind.)

A couple of furry ducks...

AFLAC down under.

How gorgeous are they Ros. Just, gorgeous



This fella passed by the bottom of the garden earlier on... beautiful boid....beauteeeeefull. Love 'em.



http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/p/pheasant/index.asp

There was also a black pheasant tho I wasn't quick enough to get the camera before it flew off. Never seen one of those before - asked PaPa about it and he said chinese pheasant.....??? So, anyhoo - looked it up and found this... (learned something new)

http://forums.rspb.org.uk/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1206

Extra-dark pheasants do crop up in some local populations. My reference book refers to them as a melanistic hybrid with the scientific tag of 'tenebrosus'. They are a variety of the 'normal' ring-necked pheasant which itself is an exotic introduction to the UK. If the majority of the pheasants around you are dark ones it sounds as though someone might be specially breeding and releasing these for shooting purposes - someone with a particular fancy for black pheasants!

NOT MY PHOTO

http://www.bogbumper.co.uk/images/pheasant0305.JPG



There are a multitude of pheasants here - everywhere in the country - they breed them for shooting (ugh!) - the female is very 'plain jane' but the males are stunning to look at. To be honest, they must be one of the most "unintellectual" boids in the world - when they cross the road they then turn around and run straight back in front of the car. Horrible. Have come so close to crashing the car trying to avoid them.

They're also quite loud!

Saw my first black one today. BONUS!

Yes, I understand. I'd have to change my attitude to succeed at farming - am not opposed to good animal raising. If I were into it, I'd rather get involved in sheep cheese making, but even there, I suppose culling happens.

Memories of driving on the chiantigiana road in Tuscany in March and seeing the wee lambs gamboling in the fields....
also memories of young alpacas gamboling in the fields in Humboldt County, California.

nice, see lots of pheasants in the fall, not the dark ones though

There are peacocks (members of the pheasant family) wandering around the Bronx Zoo. Here's one: