Tag: rodents

Sky Light, Stars Bright

I’m glad that last time the aurora borealis came to Texas I got to see it and get good photos. It was here last night, but I was so engrossed in what I was doing that I missed it.

Photo from yesterday by Shelley Paulson Photography. Wow.

I went out tonight more than once and was quite charmed by the glow to the north, but I think it’s the village of Ben Arnold.

The stars are pretty, though.

It was a beautiful evening, though, and much warmer than earlier this week. I love that it’s dark enough out here to see the Milky Way in photos.

Phone photo.

Thank goodness we have these chances to remind ourselves what an amazing setting we’re privileged to live in.

Yes, even crow poison is amazing, blossoming all winter.

Yeah, the weather here can go from 35° to over 80°F in one day, which is also impressive. our plants and animals must adapt!

Connie has neck feathers again after her awkward molting period
Clint also looks much less scruffy.
Doves are always chill.
It’s starting to look autumnal. Time for the leaves to dump!

I wasn’t going to mention this, but it’s another impressive nature thing, to me. The past few days, hawks have been all over our property. Nearly every time I come outside, I disturb a Red-shouldered Hawk or a Northern Harrier. There’s no secret as to why: the rodent population is really high. I see all kinds of mice and rats everywhere I go lately. They hang around the chicken coop just waiting for the birds to go to bed so they can eat their food. Grr.

Ha! No mouse or rat photos, so here’s something I colored.

So, please, hawks, eat up. And thanks, dogs, for doing your part on rat patrol. I’m disappointed at how few the horses get, though. They should get busy going after mice instead of finding cockleburs.

One more mandala. Thanks to Lee for scanning them.

The stars tonight were prettier, though.

Looking east.

A Field Day for Field Mice

mouse
It’s dead, Jim.

I am pretty familiar with what lives around the Hermits’ Rest, probably because looking for moving objects is one of my best skills; I seem to have been blessed with better-than-average peripheral vision. That helps with birds, snakes, and stuff. It also helps with rodents, so I’m pretty darned sure we have some big old tree rats (Rattus rattus, my favorite Latin name), along with a heck of a lot of mice and voles. We always see them when Lee shreds the pastures (along with a whole lot of happy hawks, caracaras, and falcons).

The past few weeks, though, I’ve gotten a LOT of practice in mouse identification and spotting. It started when I saw mouse poop in one of the bathrooms. I was just glad it wasn’t rat poop. Lee saw that one and said the dogs “played with it.” Then, I saw some in the other bedroom. Uh oh. Worse, Lee found a mouse in his car. I figure they came in looking for the food that is always in there.

However, when my sister and I got in my (totally food-free) car and were greeted by a friendly mouse face, I knew something was up. She fled, and I escorted that one out of the car. I was concerned. Why are we suddenly seeing so many mice in the house and garage, I wondered?

Continue reading “A Field Day for Field Mice”