This nice feller works as hare, right outside my window. I'm not sure how much he makes, but he seems to be in the green figures.

/Claes

Ah, what a cutie! I guess I need to bring a camera to work, maybe I can get a photo of one of the black bears that roam our facility. It won't be long and we will start to see mamas and babies.They seem to like to stand in the ditches where you can't see them and lumber out in front of your vehicle in the early morning hours just before the sun comes up!:mad:

This short video clip was taken by a coworker last year. Canada geese had taken to nesting in the bushes near the vistor entrance to the building where I work, and this unfortunate gentleman apparently posed a threat. Too bad there's no audio.

I zipped the file because the software identifies .avi as an invalid file type.

this unfortunate gentleman apparently posed a threat.Good Grief. I prefer my hare any day. :mg:

You see, this reminds me: I was once clobbered by a swan... while windsurfing. That killer bird attacked from my six o'clock position and immediately gained the upper hand. I.e: Yours truly went into the water. Any attempt to get back onto the board resulted in a renewed attack. So there I was threading water, trying to defend myself while that hissing monster kept lunging at me. Did anyone ever try to get away from an angry swan,while towing a windsurfing board with the sail in the water? No? Well, its no fun. It hurts... Those wings pack an almighty punch, and I was black and blue all over the next day.

And you know what? I'm really glad that nobody caught it on film...:lol:

/Claes

Claes, Thank you for th Mental image of a grown man in the water getting attacked by a swan. Right now my coworkers are trying to figure out why I am laughing hysterically, while alone in my office. I hope you did not sustain any injuries, other than to your pride.

Right now my coworkers are trying to figure out why I am laughing hysterically, while alone in my office. I hope you did not sustain any injuries, other than to your pride.:lol: No worries. Like I said, I was bruised afterwards, but otherwise unhurt. My pride suffered a bit, but nobody actually saw the incident. It occured at least a mile from shore in Swedens fourth largest lake (Mälaren), when I happened to get too close to a small island where this winged terror was lurking.

Er... Any other interesting animal stories, anyone?

/Claes

How about the time I was fishing on a lake in Arkansas. As I was fishing, I got hung up on something. I started trying to get it loose and whatever it was came loose and started coming into shore. As it got closer, I realized I was reeling in a log, only it was not a log. I had hooked a beaver by the tail. We both realized about the same time what was happening. The beaver started thrashing aroung and I threw down my fishing pole and started running. I have not seen the beaver or the fishing pole since.

I was once chased by an angry moose while canoeing in Northern Ontario, fairly scary. I didn't know those thng's could swim so fast!

I had a pretty scary confrontation with a Badger one time.............hence, the name.

And no, I am not a U of W fan.

Maize and Blue through and through! :agree1:

I had a pretty scary confrontation with a Badger one time.............hence, the name.

And no, I am not a U of W fan.

Maize and Blue through and through! :agree1:
I have a pretty strange confrontation with a big boar raccoon in my driveway about once a week. His position seems to be that I'm the one trespassing!

Just to let me know who is who, he poops on my deck.

About forty years ago, I saw a big hound come out on the short end with a similar raccoon, so I give my visitor a very wide berth!

I now have 3 of them in the back. I can't keep bait fish outside at all and they just love to tease the cat!

I was (actually my car was) attacked by a huge 'possum this morning. I was taking the kids down the lane to wait for their bus, so we were just taking our time. The 'possum must have felt we were invading his territory, cuz he chased us for about 100 feet, hissing the whole way. Who would have thought that a big ol' fat 'possum could move so fast? Even the dog stayed up at the house instead of following us to the road!

They can make a horrible racket when made, and those little teeth are SHARP! I might have just thrown it in reverse and taught him a lesson, but I figured that wasn't really a good example to set for my two teenage boys (especially since the car I was driving is the one I bought for the oldest :lmao: )

Oh, man, I'm in trouble now, I will have to beg forgiveness for thinking bad thoughts about one of nature's creatures.

Oh, man, I'm in trouble now, I will have to beg forgiveness for thinking bad thoughts about one of nature's creatures.

Although I don’t really enjoy killing things, I have learned over the years that some such creatures like raccoons, opossums, and skonks are best not to have around. Especially if you have kids and pets. Ground Hogs are the absolute worst! I have one that has been eating the bottom siding board off my garage. I just can’t seem to get a clean shot at him either………..pretty smart little bastage (actually he’s pretty big........and mean).

A .22 Mag lever gun is the best solution I have found. DO NOT use a live trap if you have skonks around. Also, if you shoot a skonk you have to make a quick clean kill. Just trust me on that one………………LOL………….yes, there is a story…………

I live in the woods and have been fighting an ongoing battle with varmints trying to invade our home, garage, shed, etc. I am greatly out-numbered but I think I’m holding my own ground.

you shoot a skonk you have to make a quick clean kill. Just trust me on that one………………LOL………….yes, there is a story…………

I live in the woods and have been fighting an ongoing battle with varmints trying to invade our home, garage, shed, etc. I am greatly out-numbered but I think I’m holding my own ground.

LOL, BadgerMan, I think we can pretty much figure out how that story went. They tell me that skunks are really fairly new to this area, they must like it cuz they are sure getting plentiful! My poor dumb dog just can't seem to get it through her head that skunks are not a plaything! I am fairly liberal in my live and let live attitude. I appreciate all nature's creatures up to a point.

It looks like this year's guests in our pond is a pair of Canadian Geese. They've been here for about two weeks now. It'll either scare you to death, or bring a smile to your heart to hear them take off early in the morning to forage for food or come in for a landing in the evening. Really beautiful, unless you don't know that they'll be taking off at 6:30! I just wonder if the Blue Heron will be back, or if the geese will scare them off?

While we are talking wildlife, does anybody have any idea why there are so many turtles (tortoises) around this year? LOTS of box and painted turtles, and the kids have even found a few snappers in the old lagoon. Turkeys seem to be pretty plentiful this spring too. I saw a bald eagle last week, and a couple of hawks and owls. Almost hit an owl at dusk the other night, scared me near to death.

Unfortunately, the deer have taken to hiding a little better since the farmer across the field took out a big section of trees. Now I have a wonderful view of the new McMansions that were put up across the hi-way about a half mile across the field. Rats! Used to have a clearing where we could watch the sunset, now we look right into the front of a house.

Back when the Earth's surface was still cooling and I was a child of about 5-6 years old, we had a Border Collie that used to catch and kill skunks and then was kind enough to bring them to the house and deposit them by the kitchen window. I can still remember awaking to that pungent aroma filling my nostrils as well as our house.
:eek:

PS: We ended up giving the dog to a friend who lived in the city.

I zipped the file because the software identifies .avi as an invalid file type.I'll change that this weekend. In the meantime:

Goose Attack (http://elsmar.com/video/Goose_attack.avi)

I can do without the Geese. Last summer there were a few days I couldn't let Renee out back due to all the goose poop. They'er worse than dogs, they leave land mines all over.
My advice is to pray for swans, they will run the geese off. On Wolverine Lake they are replacing the goose eggs with fake ones to thin out the population.

A couple weeks ago all traffic was stopped on Maple (4 lane - 2 in each direction) for a family of geese to cross. I guess the male thought the first car was a threat and charged it. My hats off to the 40 lb bird that takes on a ton of metal to protect the family. But they are still a big problem!

This raccoon was cornered by our dogs at dusk last December. Dogs had forgotten about him by the time we got home, but he was watching the dogs pretty closely. I grabbed the digital camera - this shot was from about 20 feet with the full zoom. Couldn't believe the way the flash bounced off his eyes.

I can do without the Geese.
.....
My advice is to pray for swans, they will run the geese off. Yes, without a doubt, and as you can see from my previous posts the geese may not be the only ones running off (shudder:truce: ) Er... 40 Lb bird?? That would be one monster sized goose...:D

Laura: Great Racoon picture :agree1:

/Claes

You're right Claes, either he looked bigger rushing the car or I was already picturing him with potatoes, carrots and stuffing!!! He was a big bird.

I had another close encounter on my bike this morning... I scared a pigeon and it flew straight into my front wheel. Strangely enough, it didn't get stuck in the wheel. There was a muffled "whomp", a cloud of feathers and then it flew off again minus a great deal of its plumage... I just stood there staring after it.

I'm quite certain it must have looked hilarious, but there were no witnesses :notme:

/Claes

I had another close encounter on my bike this morning... I scared a pigeon and it flew straight into my front wheel. Strangely enough, it didn't get stuck in the wheel. There was a muffled "whomp", a cloud of feathers and then it flew off again minus a great deal of its plumage... I just stood there staring after it.

I'm quite certain it must have looked hilarious, but there were no witnesses :notme:

/Claes

You really are quite the menace to the avian population, aren't you?:tg:

You really are quite the menace to the avian population, aren't you?:tg:...or is it the other way around? :cool: Anyway, I suppose I should count myself lucky. Our H&S engineer (!) had a similar experience with a cat. The difference was that the feline did get stuck in the wheel... He went A over T over the bar and knocked himself silly. I won't even mention what happened to the cat.

/Claes

I haven't really ridden a bicycle for transportation since I was in school (10-20 miles each day), but....I sure don't remember such an assortment of animals with a deathwish or hatred of two wheeled transport. ??? (other than the neighbor's dog, now there was a workout!)

I sure don't remember such an assortment of animals with a deathwish or hatred of two wheeled transport. ??? In my case, there is a reason: I usually take the scenic route to work (more or less cross country) to avoid the heavy traffic. I think the animals are sensible enough to do the same, and thus we have those close encounters of the bird kind.

/Claes

All these stories sure make me appreciate the two squirrels roaming around outside my window. They come around almost everyday, and the bring a little smile to my cheeks. :o