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Wildlife Sightings Today

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    • Accents can be strange things. My parents had Dutch accents (came to Oz 5 years before I was born). My "milk" tongue is Dutch. When I speak Dutch (badly, I am not fluent) I am told I have a Dutch accent. A Dutchman can actually pick it as northern and "archaic" i.e. 50's words and sentence structure.
      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.

    • CoachLou wrote:

      From HB to Sarcasm to me to Army. Is maybe 100 miles. We all have a slightly different sound....... Would you agree Jacko?
      When I was growing up we could tell the folks from Southie (South Boston), from the Townies (Chalestown), from the people from Medford, from the Boston Brahmins (the Beacon Hill crowd), all by their accents. These are all areas within a few miles from each other. Now everything has become much more homogenized. The people of my age just have a generic Boston accent. My kids don't even have an accent, instead they just make fun of my accent. I hate progress.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”

      John Greenleaf Whittier

    • IMScotty wrote:

      CoachLou wrote:

      From HB to Sarcasm to me to Army. Is maybe 100 miles. We all have a slightly different sound....... Would you agree Jacko?
      When I was growing up we could tell the folks from Southie (South Boston), from the Townies (Chalestown), from the people from Medford, from the Boston Brahmins (the Beacon Hill crowd), all by their accents. These are all areas within a few miles from each other. Now everything has become much more homogenized. The people of my age just have a generic Boston accent. My kids don't even have an accent, instead they just make fun of my accent. I hate progress.
      now that's, dialect.

    • OzJacko wrote:

      Accents can be strange things. My parents had Dutch accents (came to Oz 5 years before I was born). My "milk" tongue is Dutch. When I speak Dutch (badly, I am not fluent) I am told I have a Dutch accent. A Dutchman can actually pick it as northern and "archaic" i.e. 50's words and sentence structure.
      When my grandfather visited Sweden in 1965, he was interviewed by their national TV news service because he spoke a variety of Swedish that had become extinct in Sweden - from Oland in the turn of the century.

    • Not my pic but these little fellas only live on Rottnest Island off Perth where they are habituated to humans and in pockets of the forest the Bib runs through where they are very timid.
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      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.

    • Just found this guy in a plant growing along my verandah. Australian Bull Ant.
      Think of it as a wingless wasp. Yes he's over an inch long.
      He is no longer in the plant. ;)
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      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.

    • Quokkas are protected.
      Bull Ants are nasty and fearless.
      Sting is very painful.
      When you encounter one on a trail it will stop and face you head up in a confrontational pose. Rearing it's head up to it's full 1 and a bit inches it will challenge you. Very hardy. You need to place shoe down hard and grind to be sure of dealing with it.
      ;)
      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.

    • OKAY! !
      Selfie time.
      The following aren't strictly "wildlife" because they're all at my neighbors the Denmark Animal Farm. It's actually their sheep in my front paddock.
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      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.

    • More.....
      Camel, miniature donkey, emu and the cockatoo again.
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      Resident Australian, proving being a grumpy old man is not just an American trait.

    • OzJacko wrote:

      Not my pic but these little fellas only live on Rottnest Island off Perth where they are habituated to humans and in pockets of the forest the Bib runs through where they are very timid.
      Am I the only one that has this stuck in their head now?



      OzJacko wrote:

      Just found this guy in a plant growing along my verandah. Australian Bull Ant.
      Think of it as a wingless wasp. Yes he's over an inch long.
      He is no longer in the plant. ;)
      Sounds like your version of our "Cow Killer" ant (Velver Ant). Ours is actually a flightless wasp. Same size and just as hard to kill. And the sting from ours (yes, I'm speaking from experience....wowza!) is horrifying, lol.

      [IMG:http://wildflowers.jdcc.edu/Cow_Ant.JPG]
      If your Doctor is a tree, you're on acid.

    • Foresight wrote:

      OzJacko wrote:

      Not my pic but these little fellas only live on Rottnest Island off Perth where they are habituated to humans and in pockets of the forest the Bib runs through where they are very timid.
      Am I the only one that has this stuck in their head now?


      OzJacko wrote:

      Just found this guy in a plant growing along my verandah. Australian Bull Ant.
      Think of it as a wingless wasp. Yes he's over an inch long.
      He is no longer in the plant. ;)
      Sounds like your version of our "Cow Killer" ant (Velver Ant). Ours is actually a flightless wasp. Same size and just as hard to kill. And the sting from ours (yes, I'm speaking from experience....wowza!) is horrifying, lol.
      only once and not since have I seen a velvet ant and it was identified as such by a friend who is an entomologist when I decided to keep the little critter I stepped on...he wasn't gonna make it. The abdomen though was a solid red, not the broken red and black as in the photo. Very neat looking little bug, till as you say...Wowza!

    • Nature has a way of coloring things so as to tell you to tread lightly around them......as a 12 year old I was not aware of this phenomenon.

      these things don't seem to have a uniform color pattern, but like Oz's description, they are HARD to kill. You can stomp the hell out of one and grind your foot on it, but if it's on anything shy of rock or rock hard ground the dang thing will just come crawling up out of the depression you created looking for a fight.

      [IMG:https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRPCWFPsZpYGLYPyqQZ9LXXmJcZk50Bl8AouSOm-lID1oLfsvh2]

      Yes, it hurts. BAD!
      If your Doctor is a tree, you're on acid.

    • when I was in grad school we had an infestation of little tiny sugar ants. They were everywhere and proved to be very resiliant. They were going after sugar we spilled when pouring sucrose gradient centrifuge tubes. We found an ant in the bottom of the centrifuge tube who survived spinning at 35,000 X G for an hour. They also survived the ultra Sonicator. The vacuum oven however was quite leathal.

    • I have been hiking the AT since I was 10. I saw 1 bear from a car at about 200yrds in ADK, 20 years ago, 1 from a car around the same time in Vt. He ran out in front of me. No more. many Grizz in Montana, Wyoming.

      In the last 2 years working in the Greater Harriman Park area I have seen 8............I was not there when Russ saw and photoed that big boy!
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:

    • Drybones wrote:

      I've come to the conclusion it's in the best interest of wildlife running in front of me on the road for me to make every effort to hit them, trying to miss just isn't working.
      I know what you mean. I have hit 3 deer and had 1 jump off a road bank onto my fender/windshield. They are giant squirrels- you never know which direction they will run.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference

    • Drybones wrote:

      I've come to the conclusion it's in the best interest of wildlife running in front of me on the road for me to make every effort to hit them, trying to miss just isn't working.
      Haven't hit a deer, but squirrels are so stupid. Once they get across the road they stop, wait for you to get there, and then run back into the street. Arggg

      The best deer/highway incident I saw was when a deer bolted onto the highway, just in front of the car that was about 50 yards in front of me. To avoid the car, the deer stuck his legs out to stop. His front hooves gripped the pavement but his rear hooves didn't. Hiis front half stopped but his rear half didn't. His rump flipped between his front legs and he slid across both lanes on his back (just behind the car). He then jumped up with a look on his face that said "I hope no one saw that".

      Another close call was when a fox ran right in front of me, so close I couldn't see him in front of my car. I listened for the thump but heard nothing. I then saw him run off into the ditch to the right side, but he dropped his rabbit he was holding in his mouth.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by odd man out ().

    • CoachLou wrote:

      Last years Relo, 1 on the trail, the big one I've posted....he was going thru the dumpster and pails in the Anthony Wayne Parking lot at 8am while I was getting dressed to work!
      I'm getting sick and tired of these entitled bears and their "the rules
      don't apply to me" attitude. He was probably a trust fund cub...

      :saint:
      Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.

    • IMScotty wrote:

      CoachLou wrote:

      From HB to Sarcasm to me to Army. Is maybe 100 miles. We all have a slightly different sound....... Would you agree Jacko?
      When I was growing up we could tell the folks from Southie (South Boston), from the Townies (Chalestown), from the people from Medford, from the Boston Brahmins (the Beacon Hill crowd), all by their accents. These are all areas within a few miles from each other. Now everything has become much more homogenized. The people of my age just have a generic Boston accent. My kids don't even have an accent, instead they just make fun of my accent. I hate progress.
      Blame it on TV.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • CoachLou wrote:

      I just received this card from one of our crew members. This set of stairs is the new Relo we put in......ON BEAR MTN.

      PC...... Don't get the panties in a bunch. Half of the boys are of the Hebrew faith, one is a Muslim
      Should've heard the uproar when I modified (anonymously) the school's Christmas greeting themed bulletin board. Adding Kwanza, Hanukkah, and winter solstice greetings sparked a near police response for vandalism.

      The statue of limitations surely have expired.

      Lest we forget.....


      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

    • SarcasmTheElf wrote:

      CoachLou wrote:

      Last years Relo, 1 on the trail, the big one I've posted....he was going thru the dumpster and pails in the Anthony Wayne Parking lot at 8am while I was getting dressed to work!
      I'm getting sick and tired of these entitled bears and their "the rulesdon't apply to me" attitude. He was probably a trust fund cub...

      :saint:
      he's probably got one o those Gofundme sites too.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference