... From My Front Door

[Verrt]

This morning, 6 am, I embarked from my front door:
Hmmmmm, that's an unusual kitty trotting down the street. Oh wow, nope, it's a red fox! Never seen one in my life anywhere before last month. Now that they're clear cutting the woods north of my place all the wildlife is moving into the neighborhood. Had a raccoon up the tree in the backyard last night, and a pileated '...... made a mess of my birch last week.

Foxes are awesome. Are they native to your area?

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Yes, they're native, but usually very secretive. Never seen one in all my life, last month this one showed up on the block. Here's a pic of the woodpecker on my birch

And here's the mess he made of the tree

Those holes are like 4 inches deep!

 

[RustyGold]

My Wife has been chastising the cats daily for a couple weeks for not bringing down a particularly prolific woodpecker. They aren't fulfilling their end of the contract .

 

[MattiThundrrr]

 

[Verrt]

View attachment 156423

We live in a society!

 

[Verrt]

Yes, they're native, but usually very secretive. Never seen one in all my life,

Wonder if it's showed up cause of a covid lockdown population boom


Those woodpecker holes are huge!

The woodpeckers we get around here are little and cute, and non-destructive. Unless you're a burrowing bug.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

This morning, 6 am, I embarked from my front door:
Hmmmmm, that's an unusual kitty trotting down the street. Oh wow, nope, it's a red fox!

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Lemme just lean my bike on this pile of uprooted trees and see if I can figure out why all the wildlife is showing up in the neighborhood

 

[JA331]

Yes, they're native, but usually very secretive. Never seen one in all my life, last month this one showed up on the block. Here's a pic of the woodpecker on my birch
View attachment 156406
And here's the mess he made of the tree
View attachment 156407
Those holes are like 4 inches deep!

Mate that’s a serious woodpecker not like the ones i saw in Yosemite a few years back. You’ll need a cat like the massive black cat i had years ago named Bud. I came home one morning around 2am and saw blood all over the front verandah. Next morning i discovered possum bits in the front yard. Bud needed a few stitches so i took him to the vet. After a few minutes in the waiting room, the vet comes out and says “your cats a big of a fighter, eh”. Its the only cat I’ve ever had to give 2 tranquilizer shots to be able to patch him up.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

There's a big killer like that standing guard out at my Secret Storage location. He's limping currently from a battle, so he stays inside for now. I don't know if I'm ready for another cat at my house yet, still feeling the void that my buddy left. My house has ghost kitties

*For reference, pileated woodpeckers are the largest ones in Canada, approximately 18" tall! Thought to be the inspiration for Woody Woodpecker

 

[Verrt]

massive black cat i had years ago named Bud. I came home one morning around 2am and saw blood all over the front verandah. Next morning i discovered possum bits in the front yard

Brush tailed possums are no joke when it comes to claws, and they sound like the devil in the night.
It's quite a cat that can take one on.

 

[JA331]

Brush tailed possums are no joke when it comes to claws, and they sound like the devil in the night.
It's quite a cat that can take one on.
View attachment 156758

Not sure what type of possum it was as it was almost 30 years ago but looking at the claws in that photo i wouldnt think it was a brush tail. Bud did have a few issues most likely the result of being placed in a dog shelter as a kitten!

 

[Verrt]

Not sure what type of possum it was as it was almost 30 years ago but looking at the claws in that photo i wouldnt think it was a brush tail. Bud did have a few issues most likely the result of being placed in a dog shelter as a kitten!

On the east cost, the only other possum an urban/suburban cat would be likely to run into would be a ringtail. But they usually run or get murdered when faced with a domestic cat.

My folks old cat used to fight with the brushtails, but it used to just get a scarred up face, it wasn't big enough to do any damage back. Still tried though.
I used to think of it as the cat version of 'A boy named Sue', it was born an all white, silky-looking lap cat, with a pink nose and paws, then spent the rest of its life fighting everything around it to prove how tough it was. She was a shelter cat like your Bud.

Once it jumped off a fourth story balcony, bolted, and then lived in the bush for six months. Came back one day like nothing ever happened. By the time she passed, she had so many scars, no ears, and was shot through with tumors. Think she was over 20 years old.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Here's what the outdoor cats have to contend with where Rocky roams:

Fisher, related to weasel, slightly less ferocious than the other cousin, wolverine. Lotta debate at to wether feline has become a part of their diet. Actually eats porcupine

 

[JA331]

Here's what the outdoor cats have to contend with where Rocky roams:
View attachment 156910
Fisher, related to weasel, slightly less ferocious than the other cousin, wolverine. Lotta debate at to wether feline has become a part of their diet. Actually eats porcupine

and we think we have deadliest wildlife downunder.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Lol Fishers real feline competition is bigger, meaner, cuter than the domestics too:

 

[Verrt]

and we think we have deadliest wildlife downunder.

I like my chances in a fight with a redback spider more than my chances against a grizzly bear.

I haven't tried whacking a bear with a flipflop yet, but I don't reckon it has the same result.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Thankfully, grizzlies and browns are on the other side of the country, and it's a big country. All we have is 2-400 pound black bears.

 

[Verrt]

Thankfully, grizzlies and browns are on the other side of the country, and it's a big country. All we have is 2-400 pound black bears.

Do they speak french?

All we have is 2-400 pound black bears.

Tried whacking one with a flip flop?

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Around here they gotta be bilingual