My 2D homies

[Diana]

Really cool photos, Jade. I love the Rockies too. There is something very special about that area.

I looked up moose in Animal Speak, the best reference I've found on animal totems. Moose is a very powerful totem and has many amazing significant meanings. The keynote according to this book is: Primal feminine energies and the magic of life and death. Some interesting highlights: vegetarian diet would be best. Moose can teach the ability to move from the outer world to the inner; individuals with strong moose medicine often work in soul retrieval. Moose calves are born with their eyes open suggesting that those with moose totem came in with their "inner lights" on.

Last paragraph: "When moose comes into your life, the primal contact with the great feminine force and void of life is awakened. It is an invitation to learn to explore new depths of awareness and sensitivity within yourself and within your environs."

[Jade]

Goosebumps! Thanks Diana! It definitely felt so special and rare, and to have him come by twice! I'll have to try to reach out to the moose again to see if there's more he wanted to teach me...

[Jade]

Went on a spur of the moment camping trip yesterday, have a few pictures to share:

Beginning with the highlight - wild burros!!!!!!!!!!





This small family unit was just chillin' on the side of the road. I guess they are common up here but I've yet to see until yesterday - one day after I changed my avatar to the donkey ears. Hah!

The aspens are already starting to change... apparently all the moisture makes for a bad leaf year.



Campsite overlook:



Sunrise...













Then the clouds rolled in, as you can likely see.

Wildlife spotted but not pictured: A pronghorn (first time seeing one of them, as well!), a brood clutch rafter (???) of adolescent turkeys (like 20 of them!), and a porcupine - the porcupine had perished, but I've still not seen one in the wild. Also, two hawks that were so beautifully synchronistic that I had tears in my eyes. Thanks again, Rocky Mountains!

[Jade]

Cats and birds:

I believe I have mentioned before that, where I live, has many feral cats. There is a lady who takes care of the colony - feeding, trapping, and desexing them to prevent further reproduction. There are also a lot of outdoor pet cats.

We feed the birds. We're right on the edge of a wilderness area and at any given time have at least 30 birds on our property or right on the edge, often more. It's bird heaven. And subsequently... cat heaven!

We have three regular kitty visitors. A black cat, who wears a bell on his collar. He usually clears the yard and is very excited. Sometimes he would jump on the ledge of the deck and sit under the hummingbird feeder excitedly. Probably a younger cat, he loves watching the birds, but he has no chill.

We also have a fat orange tabby. He's around occasionally. I believe he belongs to the neighbors a few doors down.

We also have a calico. He's been around the most frequently lately. Usually when we see the cats around, we shoo them off - especially the black one since he borders on "harassment". We also created this vulnerable situation for the birds, so we should at least try to keep the space safe. But yesterday, when the calico was here, he was sitting under the bird bath amongst the flowers, with his eyes closed, chilling peacefully... the birds paid him no mind, drinking/bathing directly above him, and the calico didn't flinch. I realized, even by shooing cats almost daily out of our yard, we've never seen evidence that a cat has actually attacked a bird anywhere nearby. (I often go on feather hunts, so I'd definitely notice if a carcass had been taken...) So, now I feel even more bad about shooing the cats. The calico especially just seemed so chill. Part of me is a little worried that the jays are so used to my dog, Butters in the yard with him (he's more like a rabbit) that they are desensitized to the small animals hanging out... but I don't know. Calico was there meditating under the bird bath again this morning, Kile woke up and looked out the window and saw him there, Calico made eye contact with Kile and slinked away, walking past the birds and not disturbing their feeding at all...

[isis]

[Jade]

Happy cat day, everyone.



(this was a black one; not the one with the bell, a much smaller one.)

[Sabou]

I'll add to the festivities 

I caught him mid yawn!

[AnthroHeart]

Here's Loki hoarding my pillow.
He loves my bed.

[Jade]

Butters definitely goes right for the pillow, too. It's the softest of the soft spots!

[Jade]

Omg you guys. I think we have a bear den in our backyard.

About two weeks ago we started seeing signs of the bears again - trash bags strewn about. About three days ago we had our first sighting - a young adult bear, maybe two or so, likely in its first year alone, was eating at the top of the yucca hill behind our place. He was quite peaceful and he stayed there for a couple hours!! Last night, Simone was over, and we heard a trashcan fall - so we went running to check. Sure enough, our little guy was there, a black silhouette in the night carrying one small white garbage bag in his mouth. We watched him go behind the neighbor's trailer so we knew he was heading to the yucca pile behind the house, so we ran quickly to the back to catch him. Sure enough, the giant black, lumbering thing comes slinking through, white bag in tow - but he kept going over the yucca hill and down into the ravine. We were sad we weren't going to get to watch him more, but we knew we'd see him again soon.

This morning when Kile and Simone were walking Judy, she peaked down into the ravine and noticed that there appeared to be a huge mound of fresh dug dirt beneath the two pine trees along our back fence. She said "Hey... do you think the bear could be living there?" We have yet to get a closer look, but we did some googling about bear dens, and it turns out that they often dig them out on a hillside, beneath a tree. It's likely this young bear has almost been exclusively raised near this trailer park, and now that he's on his own, has just decided that it was the most logical place to put his den.

About 5 days ago, a man with a camera and a utility belt with a few other accessories was poking around back there, and headed down even into the ravine a bit. We even thought then that maybe there was a bear den down there, and that Colorado Parks and Wildlife might be keeping track of the bear population after last year's poaching. We also live under a heavily surveillanced area by the military/air force, so it's likely aerial survey noticed the huge amount of displaced dirt. Anyway, the other side of our fence is protected state park land, so he's likely very safe. And he's even more safe because he has us!! And I'm pretty excited because I think I sleep ~20ft away from a bear. The con is that bear land is trash land, and bear trash is constant, bear trash is insurmountable. Please send garbage bags. xx

Here is a picture showing the proximity of the trees from my bedroom window. I'm going to wait until we know he's actually gone/out of there before we go poking around on the other side of the fence, so confirmation will be forthcoming.

[Jade]

Went camping this weekend as the aspens are beginning to change. The beauty is unreal. I hope I can share a little bit of it with my pictures.

[Jade]

[isis]

yeah...how is that even real.

[Dog Star]

[Nau7ik]

I moved into the house I'm at now a year and a half ago, and I've been making friends with the second density in my backyard. It's amazing! There is truly a whole new world in the backyard. I met a baby green cricket who was living on a growing flower bush. In the spring, I saw him in the middle of a brand new blossom and I could feel the vitality of life. As time went on I kept checking back and the cricket was living quite comfortably on this bush alone. He would eat the leaves but he would also tend to the new leaves spouting up. It was a gift to see that synergy.

Another friend I met was a big orange spider living between the trees. He maintained a big intricate web, and it was a beautiful sight to see. Before this house I hated spiders and most insects. Since then I've noticed that they don't bother me anymore. When I see a bug in my house I take him outside instead of killing him. I've developed a new respect and love for our second density friends.

[YinYang]

He maintained a big intricate web, and it was a beautiful sight to see. Before this house I hated spiders and most insects. Since then I've noticed that they don't bother me anymore.

Well, there are spiders and then there are spiders. If you see this (someone's backyard in Cairns, Australia) you burn the house down!

[YinYang]

This is Snoekie, he's my shadow.

[isis]

today's visitor:
(about as big as my hand.)

[Jade]

Most of you probably know that I have a small menagerie, and our rooster had a viral video last Christmas so our little modest Facebook page has a lot more likes than it would have organically. We get contacted from people time to time (I think we're listed as something like an "animal rescue") on Facebook. A few days ago, we got a really devastating message. A woman had rescued a tiny baby pigeon that had fallen from her nest high in the rafters at Home Depot and sustained a bad injury. Her brother used to breed pigeons, so she saw one in distress and began caring for her. She took her to the vet and the vet said that her injury wouldn't heal properly and she probably wouldn't be able to be released.

Now, while caring for the tiny baby pigeon, 2 weeks ago, this woman experienced the loss of her son. She reached out to us in her devastation and shock. She was unable to care for the baby anymore, but she really "couldn't have something else die on her", and the only response she got from an ad she put on craigslist seemed to her like someone who was training his dogs (which is where most free animals on craigslist go). She said her other option was to maybe try to release her back at Home Depot. So, we decided we would take in the little pigeon and either try to find a home for her ourselves, with a bit more flexibility on time, or, just add her to our flock and care for her forever.

So, nothing sadder than a bird in a cage, but this little one wouldn't survive a day in the wild, and she seems to enjoy being alive. She is alert, she can fly a bit, and she basically thinks she is people since she has been being hand fed baby bird formula for several weeks. Her little wonky leg is very sad, but it's also very hopeful that somebody saw that her life was worth it and saved her. We haven't decided on a name yet, I think we are leaning towards Grus, since our other pigeons are Cygnus and Aquila. Or something along those lines.

Sweet baby!

[Louisabell]

Sweet baby!

I love her! Wish I could take her. I found a fledging with a broken wing in my backyard, took him to the vet, was prepared to care for him for life as he wouldn't be able to fly, but the vet wasn't allowed to release him to me because he was wildlife and they're very strict here about keeping wildlife domesticated. Bye bye little birdie rest in peace.

[AnthroHeart]

Sweet baby!

I love her! Wish I could take her. I found a fledging with a broken wing in my backyard, took him to the vet, was prepared to care for him for life as he wouldn't be able to fly, but the vet wasn't allowed to release him to me because he was wildlife and they're very strict here about keeping wildlife domesticated. Bye bye little birdie rest in peace.

That sucks if they still charged you.

[Jade]

I'm so sorry, Louisabell! Thank you for trying, that must have been so devastating. I know wildlife rehabilitators usually won't take pigeons because they are non native species. I guess I have to be very glad that the vet she took the pigeon too was very glib (the vet said - "looks like you have a homing pigeon!", meaning her own little pet) and yeah, this little one will eventually be able to get around fairly well, but being as she is still barely fledged (you can still see the yellow hairs on her head, and she peeps!!) she is still learning body coordination in general. But she is so tame. We let her out of her cage earlier and she flew right up into my hands. Most of my other animals come from situations of neglect and still don't trust me that much, heh.

There is one avian vet in town, I was considering taking her in, but skeptical for many reasons (I have had mixed experiences with vets... uncommon animals aren't easy) so I'm glad to have the heads up to call before I just bring her somewhere.

That sucks if they still charged you.

I took my little rat Graham into the vet, he had pneumonia which had escaped our detection because rats usually have upper respiratory infections first, and that's obvious because of sneezing, wheezing, etc. They vets insisted on getting an xray so that they could "see the progress as it heals" (so completely unnecessary for diagnosis) and they scared my fragile little rat so badly while holding him still for the xray that he had a heart attack and died in the xray room. They still charged me.



This is Graham 5 minutes before he passed away. He was moving around and alert. If they would have just cut us the script for the meds we would have been back home nursing him to health about half an hour later. After this experience, I ordered antibiotics online and for obviously recognizable and treatable ailments, I treat my own animals. I trust in my own healing skills and it's just such a risk to introduce such a stressful situation into an already sensitive and ailing animal who is scared of strange humans. The group mind of the internet is often just as helpful as the general knowledge of a vet, especially for exotic species (not cats and dogs) and especially my chickens. The antibiotics I ordered from a pigeon supply store are illegal to give my chickens because they are "food animals". "Farm" animals don't get the same kind of care from vets that "pet" animals do. So yeah. Call me a bit skeptical already about taking the animals in my care to the vet, unless absolutely necessary, for this and several other reasons from personal experience. 

[AnthroHeart]

That's why I'm never going to raise a fox. It would be hard to find a good vet.
Plus my heart is really for german shepherds.

[Louisabell]

That sucks if they still charged you.

I didn't mind paying because the little guy was no longer suffering. Yes, I would have liked to save his life, but I understand and also appreciate the strict rules here. We have lots of wild flocks of colourful parrots here that poachers could get a lot of money for. I'm very happy seeing them live so freely in nature.

and yeah, this little one will eventually be able to get around fairly well, but being as she is still barely fledged (you can still see the yellow hairs on her head, and she peeps!!) she is still learning body coordination in general. But she is so tame. We let her out of her cage earlier and she flew right up into my hands. Most of my other animals come from situations of neglect and still don't trust me that much, heh.

Tame baby birds are the sweetest and most affectionate pets. If you don't end up keeping her I really hope she goes to a home where she'll get lots of scritches.

Sorry to hear about Graham.    I wish they would read animals better when handling them. They really should have apologized at least.

[flofrog]

My son had once a hummingbird nesting next to his kitchen so here is Charlene :

[Tae]

That sucks if they still charged you.

I didn't mind paying because the little guy was no longer suffering. Yes, I would have liked to save his life, but I understand and also appreciate the strict rules here. We have lots of wild flocks of colourful parrots here that poachers could get a lot of money for. I'm very happy seeing them live so freely in nature.

I don't appreciate strict rules when they have no room for compassion. The story ultimately just leaves me with a sense of distrust for "authority figures". Turns out that's actually encoded into my astrology, so I might not ever be able to shake that one...

I imagine that people wouldn't poach to make money selling illegal parrots if their needs were met. So like most solutions presented these days, it looks good, but really, it doesn't solve the heart of the problem (which is presumably that some people are so desperate they'll capture parrots to sell to get money). Sure, I want the birds to live happy and free. I love birds. There's no wild parrots here, but hey, I'm just as happy to see some chickadees and sparrows and bluejays living freely in nature around here so I respect that. It's just when "solutions" prevent compassionate decisions from taking root and form that makes me angry. There always needs to be room for human wiggle room.

Er, in my 2D news, there's a squirrel that's jumping up into the bird feeder that really doesn't give a crap about the cat behind the glass. It's the funniest damn thing. I'm pretty sure he's taunting my cat. I have video footage but I don't know how to gif it. I do know many things but that is one I do not and gawd I don't have time to think right now, too much work (maybe just enough work? But it cuts into my ability to do energetic work too). If I can figure it out I will share sometime because I think it's hilarious.

[Louisabell]

I don't appreciate strict rules when they have no room for compassion. The story ultimately just leaves me with a sense of distrust for "authority figures". Turns out that's actually encoded into my astrology, so I might not ever be able to shake that one...

I imagine that people wouldn't poach to make money selling illegal parrots if their needs were met. So like most solutions presented these days, it looks good, but really, it doesn't solve the heart of the problem (which is presumably that some people are so desperate they'll capture parrots to sell to get money). Sure, I want the birds to live happy and free. I love birds. There's no wild parrots here, but hey, I'm just as happy to see some chickadees and sparrows and bluejays living freely in nature around here so I respect that. It's just when "solutions" prevent compassionate decisions from taking root and form that makes me angry. There always needs to be room for human wiggle room.

Er, in my 2D news, there's a squirrel that's jumping up into the bird feeder that really doesn't give a crap about the cat behind the glass. It's the funniest damn thing. I'm pretty sure he's taunting my cat. I have video footage but I don't know how to gif it. I do know many things but that is one I do not and gawd I don't have time to think right now, too much work (maybe just enough work? But it cuts into my ability to do energetic work too). If I can figure it out I will share sometime because I think it's hilarious.

Rules definately have their limitations. I wish all these situations could be assessed on a case by case basis. Believe me, I can see how senseless these things can be. I just try to focus on the positives. I was actually pretty upset about it during that time.

The bird I found was a unique breed of bird which I hadn't seen before. Sometime after what happened, about 3 months, I saw another two fledgings that looked exactly like him following their mama bird in my backyard. It caught my eye immediately. The mama bird jumped over the fence and one of them followed. The other one was apprehensive and didn't go at first. I was worried that this little fledging would get hurt so I kept lookout to make sure he'd be OK. He gave me a look and then after a bit of time ran off and jumped the fence. I like to think that this was a little message to say "hey I'm OK, I'm back now".

Squirrels are so adorable! If I had squirrels where I live I'd be leaving out some yummy nuts for sure. Hope you're able to share your footage of them here one day.

[Nau7ik]

My family recently got a new puppy. Someone had abandoned her at a grocery story up in the mountains. A passerby posted an ad on Craigslist either looking for the pound or someone to adopt her. (Thank God she couldn’t find the pound up there.) I was initially against taking her in because we already have two cats and two big dogs. But everyone else said they’d be responsible and so I agreed.

Her name is Sasha, she is a mix between a husky and German Shepherd. She’s grown up a lot already! I love her. She’s the sweetest dog!!

I was afraid my other dog Goldy would fight with her because she’s always barking and going off at other dogs. But they made friends quickly and everything worked out. That taught me not to be so worried about possibilities. I could’ve made the choice to NOT adopt this bundle of love and joy because of my worrying... but I am so glad I did.

[ada]

Sometime ago I stumbled upon a baby bird on the road. It was so small, and just sat there under the sunlight, it would close its eyes and just seem like enjoy the light and warmth.
When I came close to it its parents (I persumed) flew above me and were really worried, they chirped and chirped and flew from branch to branch.
I really wanted to take it to my care until it could rejoice with them, but something in me just felt not right taking it away from its parents right there. But there was no nest in sight only a really really high palm tree that could be it, way too high for me to reach.
So I sat there thinking what to do, and I decided to make a nest for it up high so it could have some moments with its parents and just hope for the best.
I built the nest out of a fan cover and some leaves and branches, I secured it up high so cats wouldn't reach and tied with ropes.
I put it there and left. The next day that I came to visit it was no longer there. I felt quite broken and resented myself for not taking it into my care instead, sigh.

[Jade]

Thanks for telling your story, blossom, I have very good news for you, and this is a good educational moment!

It is VERY COMMON to find baby birds on the ground, and of course our first instinct is to help something so tender and fragile. The fact is, baby birds actually "fledge" and leave the nest before they can fly - because when they are still in the nest, they don't have enough room to grow the rest of their flight feathers. So they leave the nest and spend a few days hanging around mostly on the ground - which of course isn't very safe for them, but it's just the way it has to be. It looks like they were healthy and it sounds like mom and dad were right there feeding them, so I'm sure they just all moved on eventually as the baby got more and more mobile.

If a baby bird is on the ground, that is normal, and doesn't necessarily mean they are in danger. If they are injured, then they probably need help. If mom and dad are nearby, the baby is totally fine and being cared for. It was very thoughtful for you to give the baby somewhere safe and off the ground to spend some time. It definitely would have been the wrong thing to do to take the healthy baby in, so you did great!