When my kids were small, our nearest neighbors were a family of bald eagles. Every spring, the mister and missus would meet up at the tree and raise at least one chick. It was likely the same pair, but there could have been a swap out if one of them died. Eagles, I have been […]
Category: Pets and Other Wild Animals
Animals that I have known and loved, and sometimes feared.
The Adventures of Raptor Boy, Part the Second
My kitten Abner, aka Raptor Boy, is six months old, fully vaxxed and recently neutered, and is now allowed outside for short periods of time. This morning, quite early, he expressed interest in such an adventure. I opened the door, and he squatted on the threshold, hedging his bets, until he heard a loud sound, […]
One perfect raven
I came out this morning to find a raven lying in the street under our power pole. I put on work gloves and picked it up. It had a heavy, healthy feel to it, and it bore not one trace of damage or corruption. Every glossy black feather was present and accounted for; the marvelously […]
In praise of quiet tenacity
My dog Bandit was, in the vernacular of my people, “a caution.” I imagine that this term is related to the phrase “a cautionary tale,” which means, “listen while I tell you what this person did, and then go do something, anything, except that.” And truly, dear Bandit did many things that I would not […]
The further adventures of Raptor Boy
I get that chickens are close personal relatives of the dinosaurs, but what about cats? Look at this picture, and consider the curve of the spine, the counterbalancing tail, the back feet preparing to eviscerate, the glowing golden eyes, the slavering pink jaws,. . .at first glance, I thought he had gotten hold of a […]
“Very friendly, but crying and walking funny”
Ever have a day like that? This was the descriptor that Ansley, my new social media friend and ally, posted after encountering my dear, old, mostly blind, cat Socks on the day she (Socks, that is) had decided that this day was as good as any to take a walk all the way across the […]
The changing of the (feline) guard
It has certainly been no secret that I have two cats, one very old and one very young. The old one, Socks, came to us as a half-grown starveling during the summer of 2001, and is the last survivor of the heyday of our pets: three large dogs and two cats. These days she is […]
Snakes are people too
Some years ago, I (sort of) helped my sister Laura and her son Landon get two big black snakes out of Landon’s chicken house. Landon had called Laura for help, saying that he had finally figured out why twenty chickens were only giving about two eggs a day. Laura went over there, and I tagged […]
Adventures with Huey Long
I was quite grown before I learned that Huey Long was a Depression-era politician from Louisiana who was assassinated at a young age. During my formative years, “Huey Long” was an odd-looking dog who had volunteered to become a part of our family. We estimated him to be equal parts beagle, dachshund, basset hound, and […]
Poor Clarence
Poor Clarence showed up in our back yard one day, skin and bones, wearing a collar that appeared to weigh more than he did, and suffering from a whole-body tremor. He appeared to be a cross between a Chihuahua and a beagle. He was desperately fearful of everything that moved, and of many things that […]