It's a Jungle Out There

[wraithfodder]

Well, suburbia sure has it's moments. It seems the front yard road is becoming dangerous (at least to critters). I came home from work yesterday, only to see a huge red-tailed hawk take off, so I'm assuming, blast, it nailed something in the front yard. So I went down to investigate and found a baby bunny lying on its side. Eeek! It was gasping a bit, I picked it up and then noticed blood on my hand. Ack. However, the little fellow righted himself in my hand, hopped off and dug back into the nest (in the ground) which contained one other unharmed baby bunny. I'm not sure if there were more, if the hawk took off with one, or snatched mom. I didn't see anything large dangling from the hawk, so I'm assuming one of the babies got taken off for a late lunch. Sigh. I kept an eye on the yard for a while, recovered the nest (yes, you can touch them as human scent is so pervasive the rabbits ignore it) with grass and whatnot. When I went to sleep, it was still undisturbed. This morning I checked it out and it was empty. Sigh. However, it wasn't torn apart, so that means coyotes probably did not eat them. My hope is that when I wasn't out there, mom came back and removed the babies (as they will do so if the nest gets attacked). I realize bunnies are "nature's potato chips" but I hate it when little ones get nailed. 

Like the turkey. And as I left the driveway, turned on the road and there's a turkey on the road. Well, a turkey wing. Ack! 

But on the good side, the off-again, on-again toad in the window well as reappeared. I'd feared something had eaten him.

Oh, and wanna see my slug? He was over four inches long! Figure 5-6" once stretched out! Leopard slug! Moves much quicker than normal slugs, which I guess makes sense as leopard slugs eat other slugs...

 

Comments

[faekitty71.livejournal.com]

Now that's a slug.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I liked (snort) that when I googled it, hoping to find some rare prize, I find sites that go "garden pest", so I decided, hmm, better get the squash out of the garden before this fellow finds 'em!

[parisindy.livejournal.com]

poor bunny!!

and eeek! slug *shudder* i had a bad slug experience i never quite got over *shudder*

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Bad slug experience? Hmm, well, once I stepped on one, got it on the sneaker but didn't get it all washed off. A few months later, the sneaker got wet and the slime re-activated. Gross.

[parisindy.livejournal.com]

ewwwww!!!

we don't really get them where i live.. loads in bc though
and well i used to work at a greenhouse and did a lot of landscaping. All our plants came from bc though

anyways a new truck of plants came, and i had left my gloves in the back greenhouse... no big deal i'd get them later... so i reached in to this one big box of plants where a few had tipped over.. and there was lots of mud at the bottom of the box. I'm not a girly girls... so i never thought about it just reached in and pulled out the tray of plants... my hands got covered in mud... yeah uh uh... not mud. ... millions of black baby slugs.

i have never quite recovered hehe
i still get the willies hehe

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

EEEEEEEEEuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[parisindy.livejournal.com]

i know!! hehe *shudder*

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Heh, well, we had turkeys. Now we just have a turkey wing. Darn. My friend's got like 17 turkeys (15 little ones and two adults) in her yard!

[negolith2.livejournal.com]

Wow, MUCH prettier than a banana slug (imagine mobile allergy snot). In the past 20 years we've had a heckuva resurgence in wild turkeys up here in Montana. Maybe would see one a year, and in the past 4 alone I think I've seen about 50.

Man, they're huge.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Mobile allergy snot. Yech ;) Yeah, wild turkeys seem to be flourishing, which I think is cool.

[yellow-freshia.livejournal.com]

Poor bunnies. I hope the mom did manage to relocate them.
As for that snail, its huge!
What's with your place - has it become a mecca for the wild and weird? LOL

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Sure seems that way. Guess it's because we don't pesticide or herbicide. Just let it go the way it's going to go...

[flingslass.livejournal.com]

You should have a sign out for the critters to say 'Beware Evil Predators Lurking' Of Course since the critters can't read....

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Yup... they're just food for someone else.

[sg1scribe.livejournal.com]

Wow - I didn't know slugs could be pretty. All the slugs round here are black and orange and ewwwwww.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Every slug I've seen are either that pale flesh color or small black things. This is a first for me. Hope I get a chance to see him/her again.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

And the little slug loses ;)

[ditraveler.livejournal.com]

Jeez! you are a regular discovery channel!

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Thanks :)

[mackenziesmomma.livejournal.com]

Oh heck, you call that a BIG slug?! Jeez! I should take a picture of some of the slugs we get here(I live in Washington). Just be nice to Mr. Slug cause if you ever get any of the following he might save your life:
A) Poison Ivy/Poison Oak
B} Stinging Nettle
C) Bee Sting

See Slug goo has a natural anagalesic in it so if you get one of those and don't have any calamine or antibiotic cream available swipe a slug across it and VOILA! no more pain(and yes, it DOES work).

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I must admit I don't bump off anything outside except ticks and mosquitos, all of which carry nasty diseases and try to suck my blood ;) But oh, yes, let's see one of your big slugs! :)

[mackenziesmomma.livejournal.com]

Well, you'll have to wait till it gets wet around here, as during the summer we don't have many slugs(the only time of year we DON'T have them)....can you wait that long? lol

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

no problem. so i should bug you about the slugs in say, a few months? ;)

[mackenziesmomma.livejournal.com]

yup a couple months. High time for slugs starts in late september, or early october. Though the best months around here are in january/febuary/march.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Northeast U.S. ;)

[celestial-diary.livejournal.com]

Eeeek! Now that's what a slug should look like....and what should have come out of Ron Weasley's mouth. XD

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Then everybody would have wanted one! ;)

[pisces227.livejournal.com]

My Florida slugs are miniatures compared to that! You could make your own horror flick.

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

Alas, have not seen this fella again, so it was probably just a one in a million chance it was on the steps when I went out (and SOOOO lucky I turned the light on else, well, squash!)