my office

justice · Grand Prix

my office

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

Hey Justice, we've hardly got anything here all winter so far, it is a bit of a "boo" as I'm a winter sports lover. The view from my home office is lacking snow (and horses). We've got just under a foot I'd say, it is more drifting then anything in our yard.

justice · Grand Prix

HEy Nikki, I love walking 60 feet to my job every day... And that the view includes my family : ) I hear you about winter sports and such, avid downhiller and boarder here : )we're having a GRAND season, albeit a touch on the colder side.

What is the ivy-type plant in the foreground?

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

It is always a blessing to be so close to family (4 legged and 2) while working, I find anyway aww We've been having a fairly mild year in my area, but it has been bitter pretty much everywhere within a 2hr drive, I think we have some sort of force field going on here.

The ivy is a German Ivy on the right and on the left is a Pepper Piment (Super Chilli), I like spicy food! I like it for other reasons as well, the peppers grow up right (neat looking, I think) and the plant actually smells like cucumber (it is totally deceiving, very crafty plant!).

justice · Grand Prix

HA! I was going to ask if it is a pepper of some type : )

Being near the 4 leggeds 24/7 keeps me grounded and responsible. No complaints or regrets, sleep well at night : )

NaturallyUnbridled · Well Schooled

I trudged through thigh-deep snow to fill my bird feeders today - since there's more snow coming tonight. I even bought a block to feed to squirrels. Mother Nature has been rough on the critters lately too.

justice · Grand Prix

That's cool that you feed the little guys, NU : ) I do, too, but I don't have any feeders hung or posted. I just clear a spot away from the house and throw a bag as needed. I throw hay over the fence for the deer now and again, too. Not sure who eats it but it's pretty well gone every two or three weeks.

Got another 15 inches last night/today. My knees are going to wear out before the snow ends....plowing, trudging, hauling, schlepping, all of it. It's work. I love it... AFTER I am done : )

-- Edited by justice on Thursday 27th of January 2011 05:35:29 PM

pbm969 · Well Schooled

The girls haven't had too bad a winter here on the prairies in Canada. But we've got a cold blast this weekend, and the young one will wear her coat. The Old Gold One chooses to design her own winter outfit. She says "3 inches of dense dense fur will do me just fine thanks!!" Out the other window however....is the sunrise we get....beautiful skies here.

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

What a beautiful view pbm!! And beautiful horses too, of course biggrin

We're getting snow here today, about 4 inches so far, the boyfriend and I went for a walk all over town trudging through the snow, it was great aww

Love it that you guys feed the little critters too, we feed the squirrels mainly, they are chubby and cute (and hopefully happy as well).

justice · Grand Prix

I also find the scenery there beautiful, yes, the sunset, too, pbm : )

I think I feed everything and anything that comes thru my yard. Not always intentionally, I suspect a cat or two has gone the way of the Fisher Cat but such is Life. Easier to assume they have gone by way of Nature and not Vehicle.

Getting MORE snow this week, and we will be getting YOUR cold front, thank you very much : )

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

We're in for our 1st real snow storm of the season (in my area) this week (due tomorrow I believe) biggrin

The small animal population in our area has drastically changed over the past few years, we have an issue with wild dogs that grab just about anything they can. Now everybody on the street luckily keeps their cats indoors. The rabbit population has been cut down a good bit too cry

PS. I always thought the Fisher had an ironic name, because it seldom eats fish from my understanding?

pbm969 · Well Schooled

Here's a few "extra" visitors that show up at the bale and watering bowl. I love

the expression on the Young One (Flare). It's like she's saying "Look Look!) and

the Old One (Tina) has no interest whatsoever. She's seen it all. LOL

justice · Grand Prix

Nikk, I am not sure that the Fisher isn't spelled Fis C her.. and know that it is not anywhere near related to the feline. Fischers(?) are closely related, dna-wise, to the wolverine, weasel and badger. A heavier animal, aggressive and solitary, territorial in a BIG way, not terribly particular or fussy about diet. The little critters are definitely not as prolific here as in past years : (

An odd looking creature, for sure.... head of a wolverine tho smaller, moves on land like an otter with similar body type out of water, with a weasel/fox tail and sloth claws. The males tend to live alone unless breeding and will venture down from mountain ridges to river banks and lakefronts for breeding. Females are, tho rarely seen, found closer to water bodies/swamps. Tend to run around 60-80 pounds avg, bigger than an otter but smaller than a wolverine. NOT a social, "isn't he pretty?" beast.

Only seen one. One was enough.

Dana, don't you just LOVE knowing that they, ALL of them: deer and horses and all other visitors, feel secure in YOUR yard? Warms my heart when they meander thru mine. Even the coyote. She was here first, and we co-habitate well. Wild dogs, called "coydogs" here, coyote/stray dog cross, are an on-going issue. They pack and stalk, coyotes don't.

-- Edited by justice on Monday 31st of January 2011 01:00:39 PM

KatyM · Well Schooled

justice wrote:

They pack and stalk, coyotes don't.

-- Edited by justice on Monday 31st of January 2011 01:00:39 PM

I was very happy to share space with the coyotes at my former farm - until - I watched one of them stalk my cat! I mean, I was outside, by the arena, chit-chatting with a neighbor, when I looked up the hill and here comes this coyote towards us, in broad daylight - he was looking at something, heading toward a bush just past us. We started yelling, and the neighbor started out after him, so he made a sharp right and left - then my cat walks out from under the bush

I was not pleased. Then another time I was feeding in the barn and heard some noise and the cat came tearing under the wall into the hay area, and Mr. Coyote comes around to the entrance - not even 10 feet away, saw me and took off. Dang - that's bold.

Yep, they're there, they have a right to exist, but I'm very protective of my cat! She was a stray and adopted me - I told her she could be a barn cat, but she, uumm, moved into the house. (and she was mostly very careful about the coyotes too - she knew when they were around most of the time and stayed close to me when I went down to the barn.)

It was a relief during the following year when the coyotes decided to raise their family in someone else's back area! They seemed to have litters of 4 or 5 pups each year, and while I'm sure not all of them made it, that makes for a pretty dense coyote population!

Oh, and I don't mean to say they were stalking as a pack - they do hunt solo for the most part if I remember correctly - I just didn't like any one of them stalking my cat!

-- Edited by KatyM on Tuesday 1st of February 2011 04:42:14 AM

justice · Grand Prix

Can't blame you one bit, [EDIT:originaly posted 'Dana', think it should have been Katy, sorry!]Cats seem to be a popular treat. I dread the thought of losing any more of mine but I feel eqaully bad trying to keep them in the house when they want out. Most of the time, they are out during the day and PLease GOD, in at night! Alas, this is the price we pay for country living.

Stalking was probably not the best word. Well, MY use of it anyway. You are right. Many predators stalk their prey. What I should have said was the coyotes don't torment as badly. The coydogs will stalk and chase and worry an animal into exhuastion. A coyote will hunt it down, call in the family and get to supper.

-- Edited by justice on Tuesday 1st of February 2011 06:29:57 AM

-- Edited by justice on Tuesday 1st of February 2011 03:22:18 PM

Nikki Salo · Grand Prix

No idea if it if Fisher or Fischer, but I do think we are on the same page about this not so nice animal Justice! When I did Stewardship of the Equine Environment, my "adopted" 15 acres was part of a Boreal Forest, and I was to report any sightings of badgers and fisher/fischers to the conservation authority because they are endangered (just like the forest they live in). I vowed to run first (they eat porcupines after all!!) and report after, didn't see any though aww

I've seen a few wolves in our area, I think that they are Grey wolves (one was black, I don't think black occurs in Eastern Canadian wolves), both of my sightings have been in the winter. The one was a lone sighting (infront of our truck), and the other sighting was a pair, both running down opposite sides of a field. The wild dogs or coydogs always annouce their arrival, hunting/stalking just for fun mainly.

Katy, that was a pretty brave coyote, or one that wasn't aware of onlookers! Our cats used to go missing when they ventured out of the "safe zone" cry