swallows, snakes and stink bugs
AKA who knew that the ability to rescue / relocate / remove the above was part of country living?
In the past week or so, we have:
a) used our pond skimmer to rescue one of the young barn swallows in the carport nest. David and I were working outside, when we heard fierce cheeping and fluttering. The parents and one of the two young 'uns had taken flight. But the second was hanging head down just outside the nest, having somehow caught his(her?) foot in the horsehair and cotton lining the nest in such a way he couldn't either get back in the nest, nor yet free himself by trying to take flight. We managed to maneuver the pond skimmer in between his trapped leg and the nest, freeing him -- at which point he promptly flew headfirst into one of the carport's pillars. Thunk! We thought maybe he had concussed himself, but within a few minutes, he had hopped / flown into the long grass, and a few minutes after that, was flying with the rest of the family.
b) had our UPS delivery guy knock on the front door after dark. Unusual, as he generally leaves packages at my office door. When we answered, he said, "Don't let your dogs out. Want me to show you where the rattlesnake in the carport is?" The rattler was a young one, curled up by a bush at one one end of the carport. Jeff checked on him (her?) a couple of times ... when he had shown no interest in voluntarily relocating by the second time, Jeff retrieved the push broom from the laundry room, and relocated him across to the other side of the driveway, so we could safely take the dogs out for their nighttime potty breaks.
and
c) evicted several stink bugs from the house, using Jeff's clever stink bug transport system ... an empty margarine dish and a piece of cardboard, which is evidently roomy enough not to freak the bugs out and cause them to emit their telltale odor
The monsoons have created more overgrowth than we have experienced in our six years here, so who knows what other visitors we may encounter?
In the past week or so, we have:
a) used our pond skimmer to rescue one of the young barn swallows in the carport nest. David and I were working outside, when we heard fierce cheeping and fluttering. The parents and one of the two young 'uns had taken flight. But the second was hanging head down just outside the nest, having somehow caught his(her?) foot in the horsehair and cotton lining the nest in such a way he couldn't either get back in the nest, nor yet free himself by trying to take flight. We managed to maneuver the pond skimmer in between his trapped leg and the nest, freeing him -- at which point he promptly flew headfirst into one of the carport's pillars. Thunk! We thought maybe he had concussed himself, but within a few minutes, he had hopped / flown into the long grass, and a few minutes after that, was flying with the rest of the family.
b) had our UPS delivery guy knock on the front door after dark. Unusual, as he generally leaves packages at my office door. When we answered, he said, "Don't let your dogs out. Want me to show you where the rattlesnake in the carport is?" The rattler was a young one, curled up by a bush at one one end of the carport. Jeff checked on him (her?) a couple of times ... when he had shown no interest in voluntarily relocating by the second time, Jeff retrieved the push broom from the laundry room, and relocated him across to the other side of the driveway, so we could safely take the dogs out for their nighttime potty breaks.
and
c) evicted several stink bugs from the house, using Jeff's clever stink bug transport system ... an empty margarine dish and a piece of cardboard, which is evidently roomy enough not to freak the bugs out and cause them to emit their telltale odor
The monsoons have created more overgrowth than we have experienced in our six years here, so who knows what other visitors we may encounter?