Animals in your garden

[Smartmom]

I will never forget the time my husbands horse stepped on my watermelon. I mean I didn't even get a chance to see what it would have tasted like. This was my very first time growing one and I mean it was a pretty one. The dang horse bustted it and I can only think about how crushed I was. We've had a lot of problems with deer eating our green beans.

 

[grouie]

Charlie the baby monkey is back after a few days perhaps was giving to other animal loving neighbours. Happy to see him.

There was heavy rain but I managed to capture this video. Watch

 

[Beth_B]

Ha, Charlie doesn't look too happy about the rain. What does your dog think of the monkeys, or are they common enough that she doesn't pay much attention?

Last night after dark the JRTx went running outside and was barking her fool head off at the chain link fence. She has a particular "alarm" bark so I went out with my big flashlight. Right on the other side of the fence was a mama skunk with two adorable babies (baby skunks really are adorable.) What wasn't so adorable was mama had her tail up and was backing towards the fence getting ready to spray. Luckily I was able to grab Fiona before she got sprayed. Skunk odor is difficult to get rid off, speaking from repeated experience! The spray is very oily and pungent.

@Smartmom, I'm rural but adjacent to woods and countryside but haven't seen any deer here although some of my neighbors have. Critters I've seen in my yard: raccoons, skunks, possums, squirrels (duh), groundhogs, garter snakes, toads and leopard frogs, wild turkeys sometimes wander in from the fields, and a few years ago a humungous snapping turtle was marching across my front yard. I coaxed her onto a tarp and pulled her into the woods - they can bite your finger clean off - to get her out of harms way.

 

[grouie]

So far we have had only this little baby monkey doing the rounds and Preiti kind of likes him.

 

[Beth_B]

So far we have had only this little baby monkey doing the rounds and Preiti kind of likes him.

Awww.
I have no idea what my dogs would think of a monkey in their yard!

 

[grouie]

Awww.
I have no idea what my dogs would think of a monkey in their yard!

Preiti is quite selective. She has her preferences. If she sees cows on the road strolling by she will bark but this monkey she just whimpers when she spots him on the tree
I have never seen a skunk but have heard about them.

 

[ideasynthesis]

Thanks, he is a happy little guy. His nicknames are Manly Stanley and Stan the Man but if I holler "kiddens!" or "Stanley!" he's the first to come running (because I call them for canned food twice a day.) The other two are Widget, a dark tortie and Chunk, a very chunky, large gray striped kitten. But I'm not letting myself get too attached since they're being taken by Best Buddies rescue in about two weeks.

Long shot here, but does anyone have any ideas for attracting leopard frogs? I had them for a few years but haven't seen them since 2013. I made a larger pond a couple of months ago - still a work in progress- and was hoping they'd come back, but nothing yet. I know I can buy tadpoles online and in some stores but I'd rather they show up naturally, like before. I can get bullfrog tadpoles locally, but there are fish in the pond and a bullfrog will eat them if it gets big enough.
Just took a pic of my pond in the rain. It's roughly 4x8' and almost 3' deep at one end.
View attachment 7798

I know we're talking about pets here. But this little pond is too cute! great job!

 

[DeborahJane]

Good luck with your leopard frogs BethB. Sounds very funky and your pond looks great. I like a bit of leopard print myself!
Love Charlie Grouie. What a cute little visitor.
And as for that melon squashing horse, Smartmom....how frustrating.

 

[Pol Bishop]

These are two of the pests that terrorize my garden in the spring and summer months. Rabbits are cuties, but they can devastate an unattended garden in a several days. Slugs are much slower, but still dangerous.

Photos source: http://checkthis.com/dangerous-pests-spring-garden

 

[DeborahJane]

It's really amazing how high snails can climb Or maybe slither. Climbing up the sides of pot plants is nothing. I've see them up very high on the wall in my carport so nothing is safe from them if they are on a mission.

 

[Rosyrain]

Charlie the baby monkey is back after a few days perhaps was giving to other animal loving neighbours. Happy to see him.

View attachment 7818



There was heavy rain but I managed to capture this video. Watch

What a cute little monkey you have there. I bet they are bad for the garden though and tear things up. Monkies are so smart and they can really tourment us humans when they want to. Are the monkies that visit your yard dangerous to be around, or are they adapted to co exist with the humans? I have heard that monkies could really do some harm if they decide to attack you.

 

[grouie]

What a cute little monkey you have there. I bet they are bad for the garden though and tear things up. Monkies are so smart and they can really tourment us humans when they want to. Are the monkies that visit your yard dangerous to be around, or are they adapted to co exist with the humans? I have heard that monkies could really do some harm if they decide to attack you.

I have seen to it that it does not come anywhere close to our house. But I do not mind him on trees. He is the only monkey that we see here.

 

[Rosyrain]

So cute none the less. There was a cayote hanging out in the woods right behind my house yesterday, but he would not emerge so that I could take a picture. The only reason I knew he was back there is because he started howling when a fire engine went by. My son got scared and had me close the sliding glass door.

 

[marlingardener]

Rosy, we have coyotes, but not in our garden or even close to the house. They stay in the pasture, but we hear them "yodeling" at night.

Here is one that was passing by the bench we have at the pond for fishermen to sit on while not catching fish.

 

[Beth_B]

That's a pretty large coyote, @marlingardener! Apparently they're becoming a problem in some areas, where they lose their fear of humans:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/10/coyote-attacks-children-california

When I lived in Colorado it wasn't uncommon to see (or hear) coyotes or foxes. The coyotes are native but the foxes were introduced to the Denver area back in the 40s or 50s to control the urban rabbit and prairie dog population. I've seen both here in Michigan, but not on or near my property.