Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I swear by these when hiking in deep woods.
Something about that noise disturbs them.
Thanks, we'll check it out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parnassia
I used an electric scooter (early custom designed e-version of a Vespa) to commute to work during spring, summer, and fall for a few years. The route was perfect; rural, infrequent lower speed traffic, mostly level, and one battery charge was more than enough to complete the trip. Cycling was possible but a few miles between my house and the main road was steep and rough enough to make cycling a lot less pleasant. The scooter's tires and shocks handled that section just fine and I didn't arrive at the office a sweaty muddy mess (I could wear more impermeable raingear riding the scooter).
The scooter was so quiet I had more than a few run-ins with wildlife, not to mention an occasional biker or pedestrian. Darting smaller critters were normally no problem but the big ones could be rather worrisome. Moose and/or bears. If a moose stepped out in front of me I'd hit it in the legs and end up underneath 1000 lbs of most likely wet muddy hair, sharp hooves, and bad temper.
One particular meet up with a bear sticks in my mind. I saw the bear stroll out into the road and stopped some way away to give it decision-making space. The bear turned toward me head on to peer at the strange object that looked partly like a big red toy and partly like a person, sniffed, shuffled its feet, rocked, sniffed again, peered harder, then decided to inspect us at closer range. I had to start barking commands and banging on the scooter before it changed its mind. Still, it got close enough to make a great full frame photo! Didn't need any caffeine that day.
Nice memory, thanks for sharing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Threerun
My wife planted a wildflower patch in our vegetable garden to attract pollinators. The bees are just going nutso on the poppies! https://youtu.be/Fo2s5O4dKCg
They look like very happy bees. Hope they visit your vegetable plants also.
Did the cha-cha with a black bear in the middle of the (quiet, traffic wise) road while bicycle riding.. Finally, he went left and we went right.. so all's well that ends well.
Re: hummers - We have more than usual (south end of the Berkshires) this year. Lots of zipping and zooming going on at times. Fun to watch.
And, the Carolina Wrens just fledged their second brood. They used a different bird house (although it was right nearby) for the second batch.. interesting.
Fortunately, the bear decided that discretion was the better part of valor, though it sounds like he had visions of the wind in his hair...
On nearby Plum Island, a coastal barrier island with dunes facing open ocean outside and salt marsh facing salt creeks and the Plum Island Sound inside, insects become very numerous during the summer - especially noticeable are all the mosquitoes, horse flies and deer flies which dine on hapless visitors.
So in the second half of August, these pests have thinned notably. I have always chalked this up to the changing weather in late summer. And that may well be a factor, but a significant factor too, I think, are the thousands of Tree Swallows that arrive in August.
It depends on the day and location, but you may see groups of hundreds, or thousands, or even tens of thousands of Tree Swallows. They are migrating south for the winter and do an island layover there for 2-3 weeks. So you have this coincidence of great numbers of flying insects and great numbers of super-predators of flying insects. I recently read that they can eat 2,000 insects per day, each! So if you have 10,000 Tree Swallows on the island (and I think during peak days it's many more), they could be eating 2,000,000 insects per day. No wonder the insects taper off during this time - thanks Tree Swallows!
The other night I was lying by the pool and looked up. There was a bird in the branches on top of a tree. It turned it's head and for a moment one of its eyes looked like a diamond reflecting in the sun.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,329 posts, read 54,373,658 times
Reputation: 40731
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbgusa
The other night I was lying by the pool and looked up. There was a bird in the branches on top of a tree. It turned it's head and for a moment one of its eyes looked like a diamond reflecting in the sun.
I need to 'spread some around' but believe some of the simple pleasures you mention can mean far more than their parts.
I've been fortunate enough to see wildlife at it's best....I watched deer eat apples from a tree, right across the lake that I lived on....saw an eagle dive for fish on that lake, watched two river otters who visited the lake...saw some huge muskie in that lake...Saw a bear as I was driving home from work one night at dusk, around the Pocono race track, and saw many coydogs...which are part coyote part dog in the Poconos of PA...but the most incredible story I can share is, one night I was walking the dogs, and as we did every night, before dark we'd walk thru the wood, and end up in a famer's field right behind the West End Fair grounds in Gilbert, PA...we had 3 dobbies. They loved to run and sniff in that field, and the farmer had plowed it under....
I saw something move off to my right, on the Fair grounds side, and there stood up a big, and I mean big black panther...it stretched and stood there watching the dogs. The sun was starting to go down and it gleemed off the coat of that cat...I know it was a panther, b/c of it's long tail that curled in the back.
I called Jessie, b/c if she came, the others would follow, and fortunately they didn't see the cat....they ran towards me and all the way back down the path to our house.
I've been searching the net for years for Black panther sightings and now that there are more and more people moving to the Poconos, and other less populated areas, there have been many sightings of these cats...a few pictures have even been captured.
Very exciting....One man spoke of how he went out on his deck to have his coffee early in the morning, and spotted one on his land....
Very interesting.
I've not seen one, but have heard a fisher cat scream....wow, that's quit scary, and when living on the lake we had herons and the first time I heard one, it scared the daylights out of me....sounded prehistoric....lol
Bluebird bathing season has started. At one time there were 6 Bluebirds at my birdbath waiting there turn, with more in the trees. A squirrel took a drink from the birdbath when the Bluebirds finally left. I am now having to fill up the birdbath in the morning and again in the afternoon.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,329 posts, read 54,373,658 times
Reputation: 40731
Saw a coupla hummingbirds several times yesterday that seemed to be having a good time chasing each other away from the feeder. Makes me wonder why they don't each take a spot on opposite sides of the feeder and sip until they're both refueled?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I used an electric scooter (early custom designed e-version of a Vespa) to commute to work during spring, summer, and fall for a few years. The route was perfect; rural, infrequent lower speed traffic, mostly level, and one battery charge was more than enough to complete the trip. Cycling was possible but a few miles between my house and the main road was steep and rough enough to make cycling a lot less pleasant. The scooter's tires and shocks handled that section just fine and I didn't arrive at the office a sweaty muddy mess (I could wear more impermeable raingear riding the scooter).
No wonder the insects taper off during this time 
