Suburban mom

We actually live in a suburban neighborhood but we have many big gators--hence very careful with Barkleigh. We lost 2 cats to gators!!!

Also have wild pigs, armadillo, racoons (rabies IS an issue), rarely seen deer , rarely seen bear (a cub last year down the street), otter...and tons of stunning birds. This week: wood storks, egrets, herons, pelicans (white and brown), migrating robins by the 100s, osprey building a nearby nest going by with sticks and fish, eagles, bob cats...

Fun!

It must be wonderful to live where you do. It's a saying here that you never see two robins together as they fight but I used to have three join me when I did some gardening. I love them. :flwr:

Wow Pavane.....I just love Florida. I grew up in New Orleans, so we had most of those things as well.

I now live in a very wooded area instead of a swampy area. We have lots of deer. I can't keep plants in my back yard. The deer come up to my yard every evening. We also have wild turkey, boars, coyotes, and bob cats. No one in my neighborhood can ever let their pets out without supervision, even with a fence. We just built our house, but the neighbors tell us that a lot of pets went missing. I get really nervous to take Lily out at night, if hubby isn't here to take her. We run out and run in. She now tee-tees on command and is very quick with it, thank goddess. But if she has to pooh I get really nervous. One day a huge hawk came swooping down at her, when she was real tiny. Totally freaked me out. I yanked her up so fast, she didn't know what happened. I have to watch for those too, although I think she is too big now, but I'm not taking any chances.

We have coyotes! YIKES! I'm always within about 6 feet from Wesley during his potty breaks and especially at night. 2 years ago, the coyotes claimed I think 6 dogs in the neighborhood. The no reports that I heard of last year. And just last night I heard them howling just blocks away. FREAKY! Beyond that, we just have deer that may pass through and a lot of geese!

god where ye all live sounds interesting!! Pavane i love florida it is so beautiful, i will be over there next month we are going for our hols! have to leave freddie with my ma, i'll miss him so much!

the only animal you would find where i live is a cow or another dog!

We don't have quite such an amazing array of wildlife here in Ireland - no coyotes thank goodness!

We get hedgehogs every now and then in the garden and have some frogs that live in the pond. We actually had a heron land in the garden last weekend - there are lots of migratory birds that live in the estuary near us and sometime visit our garden.

migrating robins by the 100s

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Wow, I can't imagine seeing 100s of robins.

Pauline - I heard that too about not seeing more than 1 robin in a garden because they are territorial but I have seen 3 around our place and two of them will follow me around the garden if I'm out there - they are so inquisitive.

I would love to visit Florida, it sounds beautiful. When I was in LA I couldn't believe the different species of birds living on the beaches, it was amazing.

YAY Florida! It just amazes me how much wild life surrounds us in this state. I love going kayaking and most of the times the gators are bigger than the boat. :yikes I've even had one bump into my kanoe before. I love that I can go to the woods and the beach on one tank of gas

We've got birds of every description, robins, blue jays, cardinals, morning doves, finches, black birds, or crows, whichever is the larger, squirrels, woodchucks, rabbits, and skunks in my neighborhood. I'm afraid of the skunks, for the obvious reason, but I don't think Tucker would do well against anything. I suppose he'd give the bunny a run. Last week Tucker was intimidated by a 6 month old kitten that spent the night in my home. The cat took over Tucker's doggy bed by my chair, and Tucker was afraid to walk by him, cuz each time he did the kitty grabbed hold of his ears or tail. Poor Tucker kept looking at me like "what is he doing here". From inside the house or car, Tucker thinks he's a real hero, has recently developed the habit of barking.

I think a hawk could easily carry Lily away. How much does she weigh?

She is 12 pounds now. Do you think that is big for a 4 month old? Well, actually she will be 5 months on the 21st of the month. I think Lily looks very mature for her age. She doesn't even look like a baby any more. She never really had a baby face, even at 9 wks old. Sometimes I wonder if the BYB I got her from even gave me the correct B'day. She is just now teething and hasn't gone in heat yet, so for sure she is under 6 months. No matter now, we love her to death. Sorry to go off topic.

My Wesley said:

We have coyotes! YIKES! I'm always within about 6 feet from Wesley during his potty breaks and especially at night. 2 years ago, the coyotes claimed I think 6 dogs in the neighborhood. The no reports that I heard of last year. And just last night I heard them howling just blocks away. FREAKY! Beyond that, we just have deer that may pass through and a lot of geese!

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We have coyotes too! And owls and hawks. :shock: A friend of mine lost one of her yorkies to a coyote a couple of months ago. It was so very sad, but the fact that she left a five pound yorkie outside alone for a potty break was not a wise move. I don't leave mine unattended ever, knowing the dangers around our back yard.

A few years ago when tea cup chiuaua's (sp :? ) were all the rage, a woman in my neighborhood was walking her little pup on a leash and a hawk came and swooped it up!! It was amazing! The hawk eventually let go because the dog was still attached to the owner via a leash and flew off. The dog needed stitches but faired out ok in the end, thankfully. A 12 pound cavalier is a bit bigger than a 2 pound mouse dog, I guess it just depends on the hawk!

Just a thought for those who have skunks nearby: you may want to go to the vets and buy a bottle of their 'skunk off' type shampoo to have on hand in case your dogs ever get sprayed!

Usually they get sprayed very early in the morning or late at night when the skunks are out and about... and the vet's office is closed.

The special shampoo is supposed to be much more effective than tomato juice, etc.

I bought the biggest bottle I could in case all 3 cavs get sprayed at once, which is likely to happen someday.

I received a call from one of my neighbors just last week to warn me not to let the girls out in the yard unattended. Evidently, right in the middle of the city, we have an enormous hawk that has made lunch out of 4 of the neighborhood cats! :yikes I happened to spot him on a rooftop a couple of houses away on Saturday - the girls will NOT be outside without me! I guess that's what happens when we take over their "space."
JaneB

<----- Jealous!! Envy Much!

Here in Ohio, we have the usual roadkill wildlife... racoons, groundhogs, deer, squirrels (although the albinos are sweet), and such.

I do like the seasons when you can spot a Blue Jay or Cardinal. I just love Blue Jays for some reason!

There is also a Blue Heron that lives in a subburb (Gahanna) that can occasionally be seen, but not as of lately... Columbus is just growing so fast and the construction in the area might have scared him/her off. :?