Archive for Creatures
June 26, 2009 at 12:17 pm · Filed under Creatures
Kauai didn’t have too many crazy creatures like monkeys and alligators and panthers but it did have visible creatures. Ones that seemed used to co-existing with humans and didn’t hide in trees and ground holes. Maybe this is because all the creatures we saw are descendants of pets brought to the islands a long time ago.
First – the rooster (and chickens).
They say hurricane iniki (1992) took down farms letting all these chickens and roosters loose. Now they are everywhere. There was not a single place we went to that didn’t have a rooster strutting around. Quite entertaining actually, until you’re waken up at 5 in the morning by 3 roosters cawing over and over and over again.
But I got used to it. And then I met the chicks. I even rubbed one on its little head and then was worried that its mother might smell my scent and eat it but I was assured that wouldn’t be the case. So the chickens and roosters were great.
The second creature was more localized. Wild cats roamed the first site we camped at – Salt Pond Beach Park. By wild I mean stray domestic cats. Or maybe they are pets to the park. They would certainly be given food and water and be able to stay familiar with the same locals who come every day for a beer and/or game of poker.
We spotted the third creature while driving the dirt roads from Polihale at nighttime. Faron noticed one on the side of the road and then another and another. Toads. Frogs? I never know which. But they sat on both sides of the road, all the same distance from the edge of the road with their backs to cars and about 2 feet between each toad/frog. Had the king frog decreed that this be the best spot for road sitting? His decision would be reinforced by the splattering of the few unfortunate enough to sit closer to the middle of the road.
We had pulled over and Faron walked up to this guy and easily picked him up. As we looked at it, it started to inflate itself. The inflating then turned into a high pitched panicky whining sound that I didn’t know toad/frogs could make. It was really interesting but we also felt bad for it and let it go quickly. Saved by whining – heh.
The last creature that I have a photo is the gecko. But I’m not positive it’s a gecko. I have a feeling that it could be some lizard that’s always mistaken for a gecko but is really a salamander…or something like that. Anyway, I liked seeing these guys because I was told about a cockroach problem on the island but that there was also a gecko (problem?) and the latter took care of most of the former. Most of my sightings were in the campground bathrooms at nighttime. Those geckos had turned a pale browny-yellow to match the plaster walls. The first time for me to see an animal do its camouflage thing and it was pretty cool.
Other honourable creature mentions (I wish I had pictures) are:
The common myna that looked like the most awkward bird walking around but in flight was gracious with beautiful red and white plumage under its wings.
The red-crested cardinal is an awesome bird to watch. It is comical looking but smartly so and if I were a super hero maybe I’d want to be red-cardinal girl.
The rock dove that was about as interesting as a pigeon but had a really weird sounding call that had me and Faron referring to “the laser bird” before we figured out who it was coming from.
That’s it for creatures. But wait – I’ve said nothing about fish and things in the sea! That could be a whole other post and, not having a waterproof camera, one without pictures. I might get to it…for now – off to my grandma’s 90th birthday party in Humboldt, SK.
June 17, 2009 at 11:59 am · Filed under Creatures, Dreams
Animal filled dreams last night. In a new house that isn’t mine but was in my dream and looked suspiciously like the house I grew up in but not quite. I was shooing a wild cat out of the family room and looked outside to see birds and strange animals claiming the backyard. There was a terrier with the body of a chicken. That was too weird so I woke up.
This part is not a dream: I went for a jog around 7am. Down Windsor St around 20th or so there is road construction going on. Two men in bright orange vests were walking my way and then…and then! One of them laughed at my double take.
Waaaahh! A deer! There was a young deer walking down the road. They were following it. I never thought it would look so out of place but it did. It no longer had white spots but it was still young and fresh looking…and somewhat confused. What a darling animal. It kept walking West.
The construction workers had called a wildlife control group and while waiting, were trying to make sure the deer stayed off the road and particularly away from Kingsway, a busier street. The deer seemed to be getting used to them and by the time I continued on my jog, it had stopped in someone’s yard to chew on a tree.
I wonder where it came from. East? North? How far had it walked and what did it think of the city? Can it be brought back to its proper home? Maybe not.
Imagine if the consequence of walking in one direction would be to end up somewhere where you are totally out of place to be taken back to a place like your old home but not. I could be found in Walla Walla, WA and the next day be living in Seattle.
What a surprise.
April 29, 2009 at 9:51 pm · Filed under Creatures
Home invasion!!! And this time it’s not ants.
A few weeks ago I woke up in the early morning hours to here scratch scratch scratching sounds coming from what seemed to be inside the wall I sleep next too. Then a few clatters and more scratching. Rats? Mice? I forgot about it later the next day.
A few days later the lady next door pointed out the problem. She invited us to view from her deck the hole torn open in our roof right above the gutter. “I’ve seen this guy, he’s big! A raccoon!!” she exclaimed. The rascal…
He (she?) didn’t show up for a while and the hole was patched up.
I just realized that it’s very likely the raccoon could be female AND she could be trying to build a nest to give birth. Oooooohhhh…I’m conflicted. Raccoon in house but…baby raccoons!! Internet research leads to more gn’awwing over baby raccoon photos.
Anyway, last week the raccoon came back. This time not so late at night and I was sitting in my bed looking out the window to see a shower of shingles fall to the ground. I gave it a holler, “hey you!!” (What else are you going to yell?) It looked at me for a few moments. Then jumped onto the roof. We found it waiting there:
It’s amazing how these guys *know* when they are safe. You yell and they look at you kind of like, “oh yeah…and what are you going to do about it?”. We couldn’t do much then but last weekend we wrapped stove piping around the beams it was using to get to the roof.
So far no more scratching. Good but…oh geez I still love these guys.
August 17, 2008 at 8:20 am · Filed under Creatures
This summer we’ve continuously have had visitors on our kitchen window. Both inside and out. Yesterday it was this guy:
For a sense of his size, he was a bit longer than a wasp.
I don’t know what he is but he didn’t mind his photograph being taken. I spent a substantial amount of time at the sink and he stayed there all afternoon. It wasn’t until later in the evening that he took flight and danced around the ceiling light in the dining room.
The sad thing is that he probably spent all day wanting to get outside. The kitchen window was the closest thing – did he get stuck there? Or was he sleeping? Should I relocate my kitchen friends or are they happy where they are?
