River Cruising Water Cooler

[gnome12]

We in Toronto call raccoons trash pandas. They are incredibly smart at getting into garbage. In particular here, they like to get into our green bins, which contain compostable materials. We are on the second generation of green bins after the raccoons learned how to open the previous version. Even these ones have been "breached" a few time.

[Canal archive]

I have noticed in the states supposed bear proof bins! We in some places have supposed squirrel proof but we don’t have largish predators who check out rubbish bins. Apart from humans who are skip dippers. CA 

[Daisi]

We have "squirrel proof" bird feeders here, I tried several before just giving up and putting the seed on the balcony and letting every thing come eat when they want.  It's cute to watch as the Morning Doves tend to "boss" everyone around, if they think the squirrels are getting in their way, they chase after them.  I also laugh at the little red squirrels chasing around the grey and black squirrels even though they are 1/2 the size.

[capriccio]

We have occasional bear sightings at our house in the Shenandoah Valley.  Within a month of installing an outdoor camera under our back deck a yearling wandered into the frame and looked around.  After that our kids were instructed not to let their dogs out loose on the property.

 

When we first moved in 16 years ago one day our next door neighbor asked if we had heard a ruckus the previous night.  A bear had climbed up the 15 steps unto his deck to get at the bird feeders!  After that they took down the feeders.

 

This summer a much larger bear (estimated 300 pounds by the neighbors) was around the neighborhood most of the summer.  Lots of neighbors had seen him ambling through their properties.  He was very inquisitive.  One day a neighbor was in his dining room and felt like someone was nearby. The bear was standing at the window with his nose pressed against it watching him!  They just stared at each other until the bear wandered away.  His wife complained that he wouldn't allow her to wash the bear snot off the window until he got a chance to tell his story to everyone in the neighborhood. 

[jpalbny]

8 hours ago, Daisi said:

We have "squirrel proof" bird feeders here, I tried several before just giving up and putting the seed on the balcony and letting every thing come eat when they want.  It's cute to watch as the Morning Doves tend to "boss" everyone around, if they think the squirrels are getting in their way, they chase after them.  I also laugh at the little red squirrels chasing around the grey and black squirrels even though they are 1/2 the size.

 

I have found one that actually works. It's called the "Yankee Flipper" made by a company called Droll Yankees. Unless the battery runs out, the squirrels absolutely cannot crack it - and we've had it for about 15 years. It's endlessly entertaining to watch them try. Chris has a great video of one persistent squirrel that tried very hard, and was sent for a spin! I will have to find and post it here some time.

[CoolNickname]

Remember that old commercial for the store in the mall where the woman was standing at the door with her face practically pressed to the glass going "Open...Open...Open!"? That's me to Europe reading this thread. I really hope we all get this vaccine business sorted so we can travel again soon. With not being able to cruise I've spent the time adding so many places to my bucket list.

[Canal archive]

CoolNickname you and all of us. All of our bucket lists are getting really long.

We also have supposedly squirrel proof bird feeders, although I have seen squirrels mobbed by Blue Tits when trying for food. CA

[notamermaid]

Right now, not quite now, but when I go in a certain direction, I get to my workplace and think "open, please let me in" when I see my annex building. They have decided to keep me out longer. The longing sighs have changed from "I want to go to England" to "I want to go to Würzburg". That is more feasible, but out of reach at least until June.

 

I have no wildlife around here to cheer me up. It is too cold for the butterflies, our resident bat is still asleep I think and the hedgehog that eats the cat food may also still be in winter sleep mode. The red squirrels rarely come close enough to my house, they live in trees a bit further away. The bird population is not of an interesting variety and the bird of prey that had lived close by moved away last year.

 

My neighbour's cats are a delight and the female one was out last night despite the drizzle, she was in great spirits and then so was I! ☺️ 

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Daisi]

15 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

I have found one that actually works. It's called the "Yankee Flipper" made by a company called Droll Yankees. Unless the battery runs out, the squirrels absolutely cannot crack it - and we've had it for about 15 years. It's endlessly entertaining to watch them try. Chris has a great video of one persistent squirrel that tried very hard, and was sent for a spin! I will have to find and post it here some time.

 

Thanks JP, but I can buy a lot of seed for one of those!  Our squirrels tend to sit on the top and stretch down, they could work, but they are also only for smaller birds...not sure how the larger ones would get their food.  We've had several Lee Valley so-called squirrel proof ones, but they still seem to get the food out.  Oh well, my birds tend to keep the squirrels in line so maybe they aren't necessary.

 

Have you hit the "Medical" section in your German yet?  Finally found a word that I just can't seem to get out correctly...."Krankenversicherung".  I will really have to work on it, although hopefully I won't ever have to be trying to claim health insurance. 🙂

Edited March 17, 2021 by Daisi

[notamermaid]

Krankenversicherung - hmm, a mild challenge. Perhaps this helps: the r sounds as if you are mildly ill in your upper throat, like a bit croaky, but not as bad as the phlegm stuck in your throat type that you kind of hear in the ch in Scottish loch. Remember that the first e is the ubiquitous schwa sound like in English and the v is a hard f, a bit like trying to get fluff off your lips. But as you said, hopefully the need to use the word never arises!

 

Keep at it, well done for having the discipline for doing this without a teacher, and thanks for having embarked on the journey of learning my native language. ☺️ 

 

notamermaid

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by notamermaid
Added info

[jpalbny]

4 minutes ago, Daisi said:

 

Thanks JP, but I can buy a lot of seed for one of those!  Our squirrels tend to sit on the top and stretch down, they could work, but they are also only for smaller birds...not sure how the larger ones would get their food.  We've had several Lee Valley so-called squirrel proof ones, but they still seem to get the food out.  Oh well, my birds tend to keep the squirrels in line so maybe they aren't necessary.

 

Have you hit the "Medical" section in your German yet?  Finally found a word that I just can't seem to get out correctly...."Krankenversicherung".  I will really have to work on it, although hopefully I won't ever have to be trying to claim health insurance. 🙂

 

The feeder is too long/tall for them to stretch and reach the feeder holes. Even if they hang on by their back paws they can't reach. They slip and hit the spinning part, and off they go!

 

The entertainment value was worth the cost for us. And birds are messy, so some seed gets spilled on the ground while they eat, which feeds the squirrels enough to get by.

 

Here is one guy who tried very hard.

 

 

The larger birds can still feed there. They have to land gently so they don't trigger the spin mechanism. They are smart and can figure it out. We've watched. Blue jays and starlings do just fine though sometimes it takes them a few tries. 

 

Ha, Krankenversicherung! Ja, nicht einfach! I look at it as a powerful incentive to stay well!

[Daisi]

Love the video.  Just sat here watching two Doves backing a squirrel right to the edge of the balcony.  Funny, the Doves don't mind the smaller birds flying in and out, Cardinals & Jays are ok (as long as the Jays are quiet), but if the squirrels are where a batch of seeds are...they take over.  I never figured they would be so bossy!

 

Saw the fox this morning...hope that's a good sign for young ones. 

[notamermaid]

Don't know how that wrong emoji got into my post above. It was supposed to be a smile. Sorry. Love the efforts to try and master our multiple compound words.

 

Thanks for the video, @jpalbny . "Eichhörnchen mit Drehwurm! That is colloquial for saying the squirrel has got dizzy (from being spun around in this case). Question is, can they get used to it, or is it so memorably unpleasant that they learn not to try again...

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

When we go to our place in Scotland we see loads of red squirrels they are so fast and cute. Last year (yes we got there in the break between lockdowns) when touring round up in the Cairngorms well off the beaten track we saw a wildcat, the local gillies pooh poohed it and said it was just a Ferrell cat but we were proved right by our local wildlife expert. We’ve seen otter in the canal near us but only when there’s a drought they much prefer running water. CA

[Daisi]

I think the weirdest thing we had around here was an ermine.  DH had one of his cars parked outside one year while working on it, and when he reached in behind the seat felt something furry... not sure who was the most shocked, him or the ermine!  He backed off and we sat and watched it slowly creep out and into the field next door.  

 

We have had beavers & otters in the creek behind us, very large snapping turtles (and several smaller ones), deer, turkeys, and neighbours had a bear in their yard.  We have had "pet" skunks - best guard dogs you could ask for, I could tell it to go away no problem, but DH just had to whisper that it was outside and the tail went up.  We've also had groundhogs, the little ones were so cute.  One of the bonus' of living in the country I guess, we get it all....except for the moose.  They tend to stick to the city and not come down as far as our area. 🙂

 

[Canal archive]

A few years ago cruising down the Ice fields parkway I spied a moose we stopped and pulled over to take picture, of course so did others and this idiot in a bright red jacket decided to run towards it, not content with that he is shouting ‘come here come here I’ve got food for you, what a prat, needless to say the moose exited stage right with dignity in tact.

[Daisi]

We "met" a moose one year heading to New Brunswick from Maine.  I drive a low car...getting almost close to that thing really makes you realise just how big they really are.  

 

I remember being out west as a kid, and stopping along the roadside rest areas for lunches.  One place we were going to stop at everyone was sitting in their cars...we found out why when we got closer to the tables.  A black bear had decided it wanted to visit.  I can still see the crazy lady trying to scare it away with a table cloth as she wanted the table.   We had lots of fun with wildlife as kids...going around at night in campgrounds looking for "pretty kitties" (they were pretty tame), driving into Yellowstone Park and having to roll windows up as bears were trying to investigate the cars waiting to get into the park...  🙂

 

[sharkster77]

We were driving through Yellowstone in a minivan, so we were sitting up fairly high.  A lone bison was walking right down the center lane of the road.  As we slowly went by each other it blew us all away how TALL that creature was as compared to the height of the car.  Being that up close was an experience.

[Canal archive]

Close up some of these animals are simply amazing but so is man. A few years ago on our narrow boat cruising on the river Thames we realised we were approaching a boat meeting that is rowing boats they used most of the river and a narrow width on one side was buoyed off for passing boats. We happened to pass as the eights took off, okay on the telie they look good but when your just feet away the sheer power they pour out is phenomenal you can actually feel it. CA

[dogs4fun]

On 3/18/2021 at 2:34 AM, Canal archive said:

When we go to our place in Scotland we see loads of red squirrels they are so fast and cute. 

Your place in Scotland? Lucky you - I love Scotland! 

Mind if I ask whereabouts in Scotland you have a second home?

[Canal archive]

Cairngorms. Hopefully we’ll get back this year. CA

[Coral]

20 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

We were driving through Yellowstone in a minivan, so we were sitting up fairly high.  A lone bison was walking right down the center lane of the road.  As we slowly went by each other it blew us all away how TALL that creature was as compared to the height of the car.  Being that up close was an experience.

While mostly a cow state - we have a ton of Bison farm/ranches. Ted Turner raises a ton of bison here. 

[dogs4fun]

29 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Cairngorms. Hopefully we’ll get back this year. CA

  I am envious. 

[notamermaid]

Cairngorms sounds really nice. I have never been further North than Edinburgh. I like the Borders, I stayed near the border, i.e. just over in Northumberland in 2019. Bamburgh Castle is now among my favourite castles and palaces in Europe. Would love to go back.

 

notamermaid

 

[sharkster77]

22 minutes ago, Coral said:

While mostly a cow state - we have a ton of Bison farm/ranches. Ted Turner raises a ton of bison here. 

I believe I read somewhere that the bison raised for meat are a bison/cow hybrid, and are as such a little bit smaller than the wilds ones that roam places like Yellowstone.