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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Sat 23 Jun 01:32
To continue from the first Nature Corner thread.
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Sat 23 Jun 06:45
Yesterday morning I watched a cat defecate onto a neighbours garden lawn and make a rather half hearted attempt to bury it. Seems a bit unfair that dog owners have to clean up after their pet but cat owners don't.
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: widtink
Date: Sat 23 Jun 07:07
My cats Bury their mess.... With a shovel!!
π
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Topic Originator: calpar
Date: Sat 23 Jun 11:43
Cats are an excuse for a pet
Who actually looks after a cat?
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Topic Originator: widtink
Date: Sat 23 Jun 12:09
Cats have "staff".... Not owners.
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Topic Originator: buffy
Date: Sat 23 Jun 18:07
Some cats bury their poo some donβt. Mine buries (and helps the garden) whilst a neeburs cat leaves theirs on the grass.
However we had problems with a former neighbour who let her two dogs on to the communal area and they pooped all over the grass and not once did their owner pick it up. It was left to the rest of us (if we wanted clean feet whilst hanging out washing / using the garden for socialising).
βBuffyβs Buns are the finest in Fifeβ, J. Spence 2019β
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Topic Originator: ipswichpar
Date: Sat 23 Jun 18:35
It's not good in the garden because of toxoplasmosis. Smells horrible too.
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Topic Originator: widtink
Date: Sun 24 Jun 00:31
anyhoo ... getting back to the op ....
went furra walk today ....
turns oot that coos love a camera
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Sun 24 Jun 11:45
Have you ever let a cow lick your hand? It's like a rasp - makes me laugh. Cattle are just very curious it seems. Other animals come to you because they think they might get food but cows and young bulls just seem to like folk.
I never used to fear cattle at all - I even lay down in a field once and shut my eyes to let them come and sniff me. It was fun.
Later I had a problem when I was walking a dog on a lead on a public footpath through a field and cows all crowded round, I had a job getting to the gate.
Someone told me if there's a big bull in a field, never get between it and the cows.
I still like all cattle but I'm wary of them since I heard someone was trampled to death by some.
'MOTHER KILLED BY COW DID NOT STAND A CHANCE:'
Quote:' There have been 74 fatalities involving cattle recorded since 2000 - with 18 of those being members of the public.
In comparison, dangerous dogs have killed 17 people in the last eight years.'
https://news.sky.com/story/mother-killed-by-cow-did-not-stand-a-chance-10243253
(Sky News 2016)
Post Edited (Sun 24 Jun 19:31)
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Sun 24 Jun 11:59
You're gettin' to be a dab hand wi' a' these photo tricks, Wid.
('Dab hand': Where did I get that expression from? Must've been readin' the Broons.)
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Topic Originator: widtink
Date: Sun 24 Jun 15:50
Mon the ducks !!!
At Otterston Loch
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Sun 24 Jun 19:28
Lovely photo Wid. Can almost sense the drake standing thinking about his next move.
BTW I didn't really mean photo 'tricks' as I said in my last post. I meant photo SKILLS.
I'm gonna get around to posting a picture of my own one o' these days when I try that site you suggested on the admin forum. π
Post Edited (Sun 24 Jun 19:31)
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Topic Originator: widtink
Date: Sun 24 Jun 19:39
it's no every day ye see a squirrel up a tree eating an apple .... but sometimes ye
get lucky ....
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Sun 24 Jun 20:52
Ref:widtink
Date: Sun 24 Jun 19:39
<<< sometimes ye get lucky .... >>>
Talk about gettin' lucky - today I was driving and I looked in my rear view mirror and a wee crittur was runnin' along the road. I stopped and watched and, instead o' runnin' across from one grass verge to the other, it was runnin' straight along the road. I thought it might be a mouse. I thought it was gonna run right past me, but it turned just behind me and then I could see it had a short tail. Was probably a field vole - like a small hamster.
They're common enough but I've probably only seen four in my life, so it was a wee treat. I love seein' the unexpected when I'm behind the wheel.
What would be the most unusual thing I've seen when driving?
The rarest wild animal I've seen from the car was a dead ermine (stoat in white winter coat) - beautiful - not completely white, had a strip of brown still on its back. I stopped and had a good look at it. It was in perfect condition.
But the most unusual sighting of a living animal was a wild rabbit lying on her side. suckling four very young offspring. They were right at the edge of the grass verge - almost on the road.
(photo sources: field vole - cdn.rentokil.com ; ermine - staticflickr.com)
Post Edited (Mon 25 Jun 02:24)
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Topic Originator: calpar
Date: Sun 24 Jun 21:13
I saw a beaver once, up the old railway bank behind the thistle pub at Baldrigeburn
Unfortunately I dont have a photo cos kodak instamatics dont survive for this long
Do I win a prize ?
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Sun 24 Jun 21:29
When was this?
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: calpar
Date: Sun 24 Jun 21:40
Eh, hm few years ago right enuff
Perhaps around 1982 ?
Why? Do you remember too ?
Can you confirm the beaver sighting ?
Post Edited (Sun 24 Jun 21:42)
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Topic Originator: The One Who Knocks
Date: Sun 24 Jun 22:04
Well beavers weren't reintroduced into Scotland until 2009 after an absence of 300 years. Could it have been something other than a beaver?
And although my eyes were open
They just might as well be closed
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Sun 24 Jun 22:15
Now I understand this joke!
SORRY! Couldn't resist it. If anyone's offended I'll delete it.
Post Edited (Sun 24 Jun 22:16)
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Topic Originator: calpar
Date: Sun 24 Jun 23:58
Well, I was told it was a beaver
Of course it may have been something else ?
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Topic Originator: widtink
Date: Mon 25 Jun 00:40
Another robin .... as you can see I had to bribe this one with food
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Mon 25 Jun 00:50
Ref: The One Who Knocks
Date: Sun 24 Jun 22:04
<<< beavers weren't reintroduced into Scotland until 2009. Could it have been something other than a beaver? >>>
Possibilities?
Water Vole:
Coypu could look much like a beaver -
Coypu were common in east Anglia until eradicated in 1989. I've only found four references to them in Scotland, all before 1960, in Moray (2), Clyde and an unspecified location. But it makes me wonder how did these seemingly isolated animals get there? And could a beaver have ended up at Baldridgeburn by similar means?
(source: NBN atlas)
Post Edited (Mon 25 Jun 02:18)
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Topic Originator: widtink
Date: Mon 25 Jun 00:58
not a lot of folk know that water voles love Pringles lol
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Mon 25 Jun 01:52
<<< not a lot of folk know that water voles love Pringles lol >>>
Smarter than they look.
Ref: calpar
Date: Sun 24 Jun 23:58:
<<< Well, I was told it was a beaver >>>
I think it depends on who saw the so-called beaver. Some folk are not too hot on animal ID. I once rescued a guillemot and as I carried it off the beach someone said to me, 'What is it - a penguin?'
Penguin
Guillemot
π
Post Edited (Tue 03 Jul 01:12)
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Topic Originator: ipswichpar
Date: Mon 25 Jun 05:13
Quote:
onandupthepars, Mon 25 Jun 01:52
<<< not a lot of folk know that water voles love Pringles lol >>>
Smarter than they look.
Ref: calpar
Date: Sun 24 Jun 23:58:
<<< Well, I was told it was a beaver >>>
I think it depends on who saw the so-called beaver. Some folk are not too hot on animal ID. I once rescued a guillemot and as I carried it off the beach someone said to me, 'What is it - a penguin?'
Penguin
Guillemot
π
Pmsl
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Mon 25 Jun 20:11
Ref: calpar
Date: Sun 24 Jun 21:13
<<< I saw a beaver once, up the old railway bank behind the thistle pub at Baldrigeburn >>>
Sorry Calpar, I had the impression that someone told you about it, but now I've read your post again, I see it was you who saw it.
I found a website which seems to hint that there may have been sightings of beavers in Scotland during the 1980s, but I couldn't get logged on to it. Here is some of the Google search page info, quote:
'Beavers in Scotland - Scottish Natural Heritage
This summary would draw on the information gathered in Scotland from the Scottish Beaver Trial ..... Further information can be found in the chapter on beavers in the ...... lochs since 1980 (there are a further 16 records which are historical'
Post Edited (Mon 25 Jun 21:55)
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Mon 25 Jun 21:00
I found another website which likewise mentions (something) 'recorded at 54 lochs since 1980' and 'a further 16 records'. But it doesn't seem to mean beavers, because I was able to download the PDF file* and, disappointingly, I couldn't find any reference to beaver sightings in the 1980s.
O well, the legend is born anyway Calpar. THE LEGEND OF THE BALDRIDGEBURN BEAVER - sounds good.
(*SNH Report Number 815.: A Review of Beaver Impacts on Biodiversity etc.)
Post Edited (Mon 25 Jun 21:52)
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Mon 25 Jun 21:32
I've read most of the books written by Grey Owl, a trapper turned conservationist who lived, alone mostly, in a log cabin in the Canadian wilds. If you want to know about beavers from the perspective of someone who raised them as young orphans, I recommend 'Pilgrims of the Wild' and 'The Men of the Last Frontier'.
Two of the beavers built their home underneath and partly inside the cabin:
He wrote his books there and one day he came home and his manuscript was all over the place having been taken by the beavers, some of it down into their lodge. They were very playful and would stand up grappling with each other like sumo wrestlers, which he used in a story for children:
(drawing by Grey Owl for his book, 'Sajo and Her Beaver People')
Post Edited (Fri 29 Jun 15:08)
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Topic Originator: MDCCCLXXXV
Date: Fri 29 Jun 14:56
Onandup, I checked blackbirds nest yesterday and it was empty, I was a little worried as there was no sign of the parent birds either, but I am happy to say a short while ago Both parents were in my back garden feeding 4 young birds. βΊβΊ
 East End Park is a symbol of all that is DAFC.
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Fri 29 Jun 15:05
1885,
I had a wee sharp intake o' breath there, then YEEHOO! π π π π
Post Edited (Fri 29 Jun 15:09)
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Topic Originator: MDCCCLXXXV
Date: Fri 29 Jun 15:56
Exactly how I felt mate πππ
East End Park is a symbol of all that is DAFC.
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Topic Originator: widtink
Date: Sun 15 Jul 15:17
OK here's one for the green fingered ones out there...
My mother asked me what kind of plant this is that's growing in one of her planters in her back garden... And I don't have a scooby to be honest.
Never seen a black plant before... Unless it's a weed... I've no idea.
My late father would have known.
(it's just the black thingy)
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Sun 15 Jul 15:22
First thoughts - a black cordyline? Judging by the ivy in your photo, it's small - could be too wee for cordyline?
Perhaps Phormium 'sweet mist':
Cordyline is native to N.Z., eastern Aus & other Pacific regions. Phormium from N.Z.
Sort of plant you might see in ornamental bedding? If there's only one, maybe it was bought as an indoor plant and put out after flowering?
Maybe looks more like this:
Phormium Black Velvet.
Maybe a gardener at the Glen hot-house would know.
Was your dad a professional gardener Wid?
Post Edited (Sun 15 Jul 15:57)
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Topic Originator: buffy
Date: Mon 16 Jul 12:13
Our communal garden is awash with colour just now.
        
βBuffyβs Buns are the finest in Fifeβ, J. Spence 2019β
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Mon 16 Jul 12:55
Lovely! Superb! Beautiful! Uplifting! A big hug to you Buffy.
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Topic Originator: MDCCCLXXXV
Date: Fri 20 Jul 20:36
What a beautiful looking creature. It looks like a cross between a collared dove and a love bird
East End Park is a symbol of all that is DAFC.
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Topic Originator: MDCCCLXXXV
Date: Fri 20 Jul 22:15
Seeing birds like that would make bird watching worth while π
East End Park is a symbol of all that is DAFC.
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Sat 21 Jul 00:53
Lapwings, 1885 - the British birds of paradise! Always worth watching.
But these fruit doves - makes me wish I'd got into wildlife-watching a bit earlier and travelled when I was younger to see some o' these incredible creatures. And it could have taken me to some unusual places.
All the same, I like to see any wild animals doing their own thing. Saw a newt unexpectedly this week, I don't see many of them. I was looking in a burn, thinking I might see a minnow and something moved - then I noticed its four wee legs as it crept away. Any wildlife gives me joy.
Common smooth newt
Someone said I should have a sniff of wild honeysuckle, so I found some in a wild hedgerow. When I shut my eyes the scent was like a lovely rose.
Common Honeysuckle
That's the beauty of a country walk, there's always something remarkable turns up.
(image sources:
Newt - https://s3.amazonaws.com/medias.photodeck.com/976ed38f-0eac-4cf0-b77d-8b76d2fac769/20141018-DSC08688_klein_filtered_large.jpg
Honeysuckle - https://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.lIBrJ6F-q_T_kTVxucEE2AHaE7)
Post Edited (Sat 21 Jul 00:57)
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Topic Originator: MDCCCLXXXV
Date: Sat 21 Jul 09:48
I love lapwings oautp , not so crazy about the other birds they nest with, Oystercathers, we used to call them coupes when hunting,Because the minute you got a couple of fields away from them, they are all up in the air screaming
East End Park is a symbol of all that is DAFC.
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Topic Originator: onandupthepars
Date: Sun 22 Jul 16:09
I like lambs and sheep:
'Hey mister - go'n' geez a scratch .'
'That's braw!'
I like shire horses - gentle giants.
These are my own photos - the first I've managed to upload.
Have a go! Start by clicking the 'share2' hotlink below the 'Reply To This Message' box.
Post Edited (Sun 22 Jul 16:37)
Post Edited (Tue 24 Jul 15:28)
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