Psychic Departure Bunny Lounge

Wildlife and other animal behaviors

It's been a weekend for observing animals.

First was the baby shower for my brother-in-law's wife. That was something. I'm not a fan of these ritualized practices. I've also never been particularly big on family social scenes (my parents would have to force me to "make an appearance" at family gatherings with the aunts, uncles and cousins), so I was dreading that this would be too cutesy and that I'd be forced to play excruciatingly precious games. Or run away screaming. Luckily, the shower wasn't one of those affairs. It was pretty low-key and bearable. That's not to say that the talk of what one should and shouldn't do to potty train a child or how to book a week at the shore and how to save money in the restaurants was of particular interest. I'm sure it would come in handy if 1) one wanted to spend the summer at the shore or 2) had children. I am happy to report, however, that there was no sign of the $1200 high chair or $2500 pram. Seriously, the whole affair was ok. In fact, the worst thing was the pollen count. I was miserable if I stood near a window for more than 5 minutes. So, really, everything else was pretty good compared to that.

Yesterday's party wasn't the only chance I had to observe animal behaviors, though. As I was lazily drifting off to sleep last night at around midnight (damn allergies make so sleepy early), I heard a funny ratcheting sound. It was regular and fairly loud. I was about to rouse myself and ask sweetie (who was brushing his teeth) what he was doing when it occurred to me that perhaps the sound wasn't coming from the bathroom, but instead, from outside. Just as I figured that out, sweetie poked his head out of the bathroom and said "what's that sound?" I thought it might be something like a possum or raccoon, so I opened the window and looked out...right at a fox-like creature standing on our lawn. He or she had been gekkering, whether aggressively defending territory or looking for a mate, I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure it was a red fox. The fox and I spotted each other at the same time and after a brief moment of eye contact, it ran into the road and trotted down the street, white-tipped bushy tail and all. The one thing that struck me: it was much taller than I expected. I always think of foxes as being small, but this one was quite large. Not as large as an Eastern coyote (which I have yet to see, although we do have them) and not as mottled in color.

Speaking of coyotes, while searching for more information on the Eastern coyote, I came across the Coyote Club/United States Coyote Management Team. Their mission, should you be interested (and I know you are), is to hunt the coyote because "Coyote populations have expanded to include all 48 states."

Did that make you laugh?

How many things are wrong with that statement? Last time I checked, we had 50 states. And while it's true there are no coyotes in Hawaii (despite the disbelief of their directors), I have seen coyotes in Alaska. Also, the coyote population could not have "expanded" since they were all over the U.S. and Canada before the states were settled (although they may have repopulated after being nearly wiped out). Seriously, I know what they are trying to do (even if I don't agree with their methods), but they don't present themselves as well as they should. The Web site is a bit sad, really. What? It doesn't make you want to join this club for only $19.95? Come on, you know you want to join, if only to get a subscription to Predator Xtreme Magazine.

Part of me wishes it had been a coyote I saw last night, though. It would have been exciting. Not that the fox wasn't just as exciting. I might have to look up more on those vulpine varmints. They like to leave us little scat gifts.

The wilderness fun doesn't stop there, though. Because today, I practically screeched like a girl when this thing landed right next to my arm. Instead of screeching, though, I let out more, uh, adult language. Freaky looking thing is a megarhyssa wasp. Blech. And as if that wasn't enough, we seem to be plagued by tiny wasps in the house. Over the winter, we had big wasps and yellow jackets. Now, we have little wasps. I don't know what the deal is. Maybe the Brown Headed Cowbird I spotted today will eat them?

I just hope it leaves our little robins alone. What, you thought you'd escaped hearing about the robins? Not a chance.

( 11:25 EH | ohana. wildlife. )