Archive for the ‘Wee Beasties’ Category

Guess who’s back!

Thursday, July 27th, 2023

Mr. P in the Mirabelle Tree

Mr. P. (for Pocupine), more familiarly known as Willie (for William’s Pride Apples which he loves) was back at Tucker and Carol’s place last evening — this time in the Mirabelle tree, which is a plum, not an apple tree.  He arrived about seven o’clock and stayed until ten “or so” according to his hosts.

This time, though, Willie was apparently not after any actual fruit.  According to Tucker, this particular tree has neither blossoms or budding fruit to offer — a fact which did not deter Willie in the least.  He  happily ate foliage, twigs, and small branches, bending  back the ends of limbs until they snapped off and he could munch to his heart’s content.  Apparently, plum wood tastes good as an evening snack should — if you are a porcupine.

Willie P. Profile Shot

So far, he has not discovered the apple tree at the neighbor’s place next door — or he’s saving it for later.  “It’s loaded,” says Tucker, who isn’t sure if Willie is sussing out the apples by sight or by smell.  Willie P. is silent on the matter — no doubt confident that no one is going to argue with him one way or another.

Like all of his relatives, Mr. P. has a full complement of quills which can be seen on his back, sides and tail, only partially disguised by his soft, wild-looking hairdo.  And, as many a curious dog has learned to his dismay those quills detach easily from the porcupine but from a probing canine proboscis… not so much.

Mr. Willie P. Enjoying An Evening Out

Thanks for the great photos, Tucker!

 

Speaking of Cats in Boxes

Sunday, November 28th, 2021

It’s a rule.  Leave an empty (or almost empty) box or container where a cat can find it and in goes the cat.  The “experts” have all sorts of reasons for that behavior.  “Boxes Make Cats Feel Safe,” “Boxes Make Great Hunting Hideouts,”  “Boxes Help Keep Cats Warm,” and “A Box Is New and Mysterious” are a few that come up over and over.

I prefer to think that the answer is more often “because it’s there.”  I come to this conclusion, not through any complicated intellectual process, but by asking myself why cats think that we humans sit in chairs so frequently.  Do they think we feel safe there?   Or that we are waiting for prey to come sit on our laps?  Or would it even occur to them that we just want to rest a bit — to take a load off, as it were?  Seems unlikely.  Resting is lying down as every sensible cat knows.

In reality, I doubt if cats think much at all about why we humans sit in chairs (or anywhere else).  I doubt if they care — unless, for some reason it signals “time for a treat” or another cat-centered activity.  Trying to figure out the whys and wherefores of others’ habits is more likely our bailiwick, not  that of our feline friends.  And… I have to say that it’s as hard to second-guess cats as it is to figure out chickens.

One thing though… chickens do NOT like boxes.