Signs of the coming winter?

[phil]

Hopefully I'm overreacting, but I'm getting a little concerned. Anyone else noticing any of these subtle signs?

my brother took down a huge hornets nest this year from under the eves. It was about the size of a football too. he was saying they are kind of aggressive if you attack their nest. Ive done wasp nests with a can of killer tied to a stick with the nozzle taped down and they just seemed to attack the can.

My cat caught a rat ! My cat is a petite one and the rat was a pretty big one. She often gets birds and mice but that is the first time Ive seen her, or any housecat take down a full sized rat. I missed the action but she brought it close to the door. I guess the body was about 4-5 inches not including the tail. She didn't seem interested in eating it which is good. I always feed her as much as she wants so it's just a sport. She's a big game hunter now I guess. I had to bury it fast before my girlfriend got all freaked out by the thing she doesn't seem to go for squirrels, they are pretty fast at getting away. is it unusual for a cat to go after a rat? the guts were ripped open, usually dogs grab and shake them and if it was a dog that got in they probably would have packed it away. Hope I didn't make anyone loose their breakfast

[Lily left the valley]

My cat caught a rat ! My cat is a petite one and the rat was a pretty big one. She often gets birds and mice but that is the first time Ive seen her, or any housecat take down a full sized rat. I missed the action but she brought it close to the door. I guess the body was about 4-5 inches not including the tail. She didn't seem interested in eating it which is good. I always feed her as much as she wants so it's just a sport. She's a big game hunter now I guess. I had to bury it fast before my girlfriend got all freaked out by the thing she doesn't seem to go for squirrels, they are pretty fast at getting away. is it unusual for a cat to go after a rat? the guts were ripped open, usually dogs grab and shake them and if it was a dog that got in they probably would have packed it away. Hope I didn't make anyone loose their breakfast

It's not unusual at all.
It is said that when a cat brings you its kill, it's not showing off. It's saying, "I'm sorry you can't hunt like me, so here is something so you can eat."

It's also said they bring their prey "home" where it's safe to eat it without worry of being attacked.

Either way, the cat loves you.

[phil]

I think my cat also tries to look after her boyfriend. we have a really nice large black cat next door. she lets him at her dish when he's nearby or even opens the door just after I feed her, and before she eats. Good to know it isn't unusual, I was a little afraid a rat might bite her. she runs to me straight away when I arrive, checks in with me frequently when I'm home. I always take time to pet her. she figured out she can pull the weatherstrip back and let go and make it slap. that's her doorbell. she will do that and when I answer instead of coming in , runs to the sidewalk outside and flops down waiting for a scritch. I'm a well trained human.

[chocolatepot]

- The deer are feeding in the middle of the day, which is uncommon this time of year.

I haven't seen most of these signs, but the deer activity has been pretty incredible.

If the winter is going to be very bad, it's a good thing working from home has become more normalized!

[phil]

If the winter is going to be very bad, it's a good thing working from home has become more normalized!

I feel lucky that I have enough projects to last a couple of lifetimes. Lots here are in the same boat with various projects to keep them from boredom. if anyone "finishes" let me know

[phil]

we have more big moths this year, and a whole lot of smoke. first it was from the severe fires in California , and then a 100 year old pier burnt down, or was burnt down. pretty dramatic fire
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british- ... -1.5722770
Same night someone cut the cables to a cable car that runs up a mountain near here, for the second time. Also sunday night, a bit west, in Hope, there was a giant train wreck where about 60 cars were derailed. a huge chunk of ice field broke off , in Greenland? 110 square KM of it. - Spalte Glacier. in spring we saw a huge number of little fish that just floated in from the ocean, they weren't local fish.
Almanacs aside, I think we are seeing some hard to ignore weather changes due to global warming.

My brother said there were wolves stalking the deer at our summer place, we dont usually see wolves there, just coyotes. they seem to be coming down from the mountains, perhaps due to the clear-cutting.

[1918ColonialRevival]

Slight update - the mouse activity here has been much worse than it has in years. My neighbors are reporting the same. We've caught three more in the past week. Across the street has had five.

The only other time I remember this much mouse activity in the late summer was in 2009. The summer before the brutal winter the Mid Atlantic area had in 2009-2010. Among other things, there were three snowstorms that each dumped 24-28 inches of snow here.

[Gothichome]

Monarchs, starting to see them more often in the last week. All heading south. By the end of the month the air will be thick with them. All heading home to Lilly’s home. Or points south.

[1918ColonialRevival]

Thought I'd revisit this thread with an update. More mouse activity to report here and up and down the street. Those things are now coming in like their lives depend on it. We caught three in one night not too long ago. Also had a couple get into the garage and die - didn't realize it until the smell hung around for about a week.

The leaves have turned a little, but not as much as they normally have by this time. That might have something to do with all the rain we got in August and into September.

I've also seen some bird migrations passing through. Seems a little earlier than usual.