Thursday, October 13, 2005
Wildlife
I walked out the backdoor last night around 10 pm and came face to face with a smallish raccoon. He seemed very surprised to see me, almost as surprised as I was to be standing less than ten feet from him.
The little critter turned tail and ran after a short stare-off that he didn't feel the need to carry on for too long. Growing up in the Conroe area has always been an adventure as far as the wildlife goes. During my childhood it was snakes of all sorts and rabbits. They were everywhere I went as a boy and after a while, they just weren't that exciting. It still irritates me to this day when people see or hear of snakes and run screaming in circles or hide under the bed. I actually had neighbors from Michigan who hid inside the house for several hours after a snake spotting incident in the back yard.
For me it is simple. I take a look, see if the offending reptile is poisonous or not and then deal with it. I will admit that poisonous snakes still get treated to the business end of my shovel, but these days it is just the occasional copperhead. There hasn't been a sighting of a coral snake, water moccasin, or the rare rattler in ages. All the other snakes get a free pass. They eat too many vermin for me justify killing them. Now I can't prove that they keep me vermin free, but there is that part of my brain that tells me that I would be overridden by little furry varmits if the snakes weren't allowed to do their parts. I am strange that way.
The wildlife situation is a bit stranger these days too. I live within 8 miles of my boyhood home and I am infested with deer, rabbits, raccons, birds, a few snakes, foxes, and even bats. What really saddens me is that as time goes on and Montgomery county expands its population, these critters are going to vanish too. I really want my children to be filled with the excitement and mystery of seeing a wild fox chase the squirrels in the backyard. It is breathtaking to watch a doe and her twin fawns wander past the windows. Most of all, I dig the woodpeckers that visit the trees and feeders in my yard. Four different varities at last count and I find that pretty darned impressive.
Now that I put some thinking to the problem, I think the hummingbirds are really cool too. I spend way too much time stalking them with the digital camera, but never seem to be able to catch one in a picture.
Basically I feel like I live in a wildlife refuge, but I worry that it isn't going to last much longer. I find the critter relaxing and exciting and I really want them to be there for my kids, but it just isn't going to happen.
The little critter turned tail and ran after a short stare-off that he didn't feel the need to carry on for too long. Growing up in the Conroe area has always been an adventure as far as the wildlife goes. During my childhood it was snakes of all sorts and rabbits. They were everywhere I went as a boy and after a while, they just weren't that exciting. It still irritates me to this day when people see or hear of snakes and run screaming in circles or hide under the bed. I actually had neighbors from Michigan who hid inside the house for several hours after a snake spotting incident in the back yard.
For me it is simple. I take a look, see if the offending reptile is poisonous or not and then deal with it. I will admit that poisonous snakes still get treated to the business end of my shovel, but these days it is just the occasional copperhead. There hasn't been a sighting of a coral snake, water moccasin, or the rare rattler in ages. All the other snakes get a free pass. They eat too many vermin for me justify killing them. Now I can't prove that they keep me vermin free, but there is that part of my brain that tells me that I would be overridden by little furry varmits if the snakes weren't allowed to do their parts. I am strange that way.
The wildlife situation is a bit stranger these days too. I live within 8 miles of my boyhood home and I am infested with deer, rabbits, raccons, birds, a few snakes, foxes, and even bats. What really saddens me is that as time goes on and Montgomery county expands its population, these critters are going to vanish too. I really want my children to be filled with the excitement and mystery of seeing a wild fox chase the squirrels in the backyard. It is breathtaking to watch a doe and her twin fawns wander past the windows. Most of all, I dig the woodpeckers that visit the trees and feeders in my yard. Four different varities at last count and I find that pretty darned impressive.
Now that I put some thinking to the problem, I think the hummingbirds are really cool too. I spend way too much time stalking them with the digital camera, but never seem to be able to catch one in a picture.
Basically I feel like I live in a wildlife refuge, but I worry that it isn't going to last much longer. I find the critter relaxing and exciting and I really want them to be there for my kids, but it just isn't going to happen.
