Yard guests

[phil]

Someone changed the "duck season" sign to "wabbitt season" maybe ?

[Nicholas]

I have a wabbit in my yard, I use to see it on the lot next door, now displaced because of construction I guess.

A simple mouse/rat trap:

1 deep bucket or trash can

1 yard stick, or metal strip

1 piece of cheese or other favorite

Put the yardstick on a counter with the bait on one end. Balance it so that when the critter gets to the bait it all falls into the bucket. Listen for sound of falling stuff into bucket. I heard it while watching TV ten feet away.

[mjt]

Put the yardstick on a counter with the bait on one end. Balance it so that when the critter gets to the bait it all falls into the bucket. Listen for sound of falling stuff into bucket. I heard it while watching TV ten feet away.

Years ago in a previous house with attached garage, we had some unwanted mice in the garage. Over the course of a long weekend I got a dozen and a half. I could hear the traditional trap go off from the kitchen. I'd wait a few minutes, empty it, reset it, and a few minutes later it would go off again...

[Manalto]

Today a Red-spotted purple swallowtail (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) showed up. (He didn't stick around for a better-focused photo, unfortunately.) This is a southern form of the species; it mimics (Batesian mimicry) the poisonous Pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor).

[Nicholas]

Put the yardstick on a counter with the bait on one end. Balance it so that when the critter gets to the bait it all falls into the bucket. Listen for sound of falling stuff into bucket. I heard it while watching TV ten feet away.

Years ago in a previous house with attached garage, we had some unwanted mice in the garage. Over the course of a long weekend I got a dozen and a half. I could hear the traditional trap go off from the kitchen. I'd wait a few minutes, empty it, reset it, and a few minutes later it would go off again...

Thats a lot of mice. Reminds me of the mobile home on property we use to own. I was constantly finding nests in the weirdest places, including inside the VCR.

[Lily left the valley]

Today a Red-spotted purple swallowtail (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) showed up. (He didn't stick around for a better-focused photo, unfortunately.) This is a southern form of the species; it mimics (Batesian mimicry) the poisonous Pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor).

We just had a White Admiral drop by yesterday. We never saw any of those last year. We think (might be wishful thinking) it was female, because it was doing a little circular dance around a leaf high up on our crabapple tree, which to me looked suspiciously like some egg laying videos I've seen.
https://youtu.be/A1iXC3ThTUE

[Manalto]

Nice! It's always good to see a new (to us) species appear.

[phil]

well not always
https://treecanada.ca/blog/asian-gypsy-moth/

[Nettie]

Not sure how it got in but about a month ago I went into the laundry room in the morning to feed the cat and a weasel came out from under the dryer to eat the cat food. I had been wondering how the cat's appetite had picked up as of late and her dish was clean every morning. I chased him around the kitchen with a broom trying to whack him. We have spaces underneath our cupboards- hard to explain but he disappeared into one of them. No sign of him since, we mortared a couple holes..I'm hoping we got the entrance.

[Gothichome]

Nettie, we have a couple of regular Weasel visitors but I have never seen them come closer than the top of our river bank. Oh, no more ducks, still have the rabbits although they must have over heard my plans for there relocation, they stay out of my gardens now.