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Animal Tracks •
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Allies
and Enemies
Last
week I brought to market some eggs from my neighbor
Alexis that I'm certain you are or have enjoyed already.
Unfortunately, Saturday night, a racoon got into the
coop and killed 45 young birds. One night's toll.
It
isn't easy to raise birds here. Accepting the impacts
of living amidst all this nature is a daily and often
difficult lesson. No matter how good a caretaker you
might be, it always seems that that one slip or misstep
results in catastropy. "Eternal vigilance is the
price of liberty" was a daily lesson in that subsistance
time. It is also and ever true but most folks
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Mud
Dauber wasps mating
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in the U.S. aren't confronted by graphic reminders like losing
a source of food in one night. Farming teaches this lesson
at every level. One lax moment is all it takes. The opportunists
stand at the gate awaiting a chance.
On a lighter note, it seems that this is a turtle year. Some
years it seems that you don't see a single one. Other years
it almost feels as if you can't put a foot down in a wet spot
without stepping on a turtle. This perfect painted turtle
was not the least bit daunted by my attention and I had to
be quick to get more than one shot. It is really very fascinating
watching
Painted
turtle on road
 these
creatures. One year, Deliska and i walked to school most of
the time. Our commute took us down the lane a bit, across
the field to the shale pit, over the brook and across the
neighbors back meadow and then up hill to the school. That
year we observed 15 snapping turtles and on one day alone
counted seven turtles laying their eggs in the tallest pile
of shale [around 9'] that was pushed up. We were surprised
as it was to see the turtles climbing a pile of shale but
to then dig into it to lay their eggs was just amazing. Of
course, as it is with the opportunists in the crowd, within
just a few days many of the eggs had been dug up and eaten.
 Turtle
Tank up and over
We've had lots of butterflys cruising around but I've been
distracted with work and they don't always sit long enough
for me to run over with a camera for a photo. Of course, it
seems that if I don't have the camera every two steps i'm
passing a perfectly posed butterfly but you'll have to come
and see for yourselves.
The cats have been reaping a great harvest of chipmunks this
year. I am not certain, ever, what motivates cats to do what
they do but one or more of them have taken to leaving me chipmunk
corpses in the metal shop. At first I thought that it might
just be like a trophy room for them. All I know for sure is
that they decided not to eat a bunch but they couldn't pass
up the entertainment of killing them.
A few comments on last week's Animal Tracks from Matt:
Hello!
I really enjoyed your article about talking with Animal control
folk. I am a vegan and a large supporter or Animal rights
and I found myself agreeing with both sides of the argument.
I do not think you are inhumane or brutal at all (I wouldn't
eat your food if I did!) but I can also identify with the
city-dwellers romanticized version of what's "natural"
and our place as humans in the world. Talking with you and
reading your words is helping me see the picture more and
more.
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