Sights from around Crooked Acres.
Under and around our side stoop, we have three containers like this one. Fred set them up over the winter, worrying that Archie would get stuck outside on a cold night. This way, he’d have a warm place to hole up and wait for morning. (See the orange cord? Fred ran electricity to that container, so he could put a heated bed in there.) Inside that container is a cat carrier (with the door removed), surrounded by straw. Archie spent, like, two nights in it, and then started spending his nights inside – which, I am sure, is a shock to all of you.
One day I went out to the garage, and when I came back, I noticed that there was standing water on top of this container. I tipped it up to dump the water off, and thought “Huh. That’s heavier than I expected. Is Archie in there?”
It wasn’t Archie.
It was a raccoon, who was all “Zzzzz…wha?”
That was the last time I saw him in there, probably because I spent 10 minutes trying to get a good picture of him from the other side of the stoop. I’m okay with him finding somewhere else to be – I don’t particularly WANT a raccoon living under the side stoop, thank you very much.
The reason I haven’t been out to the back forty to take pictures in so long is because it has been raining FOREVER, we have standing water everywhere, and it is super unpleasant. In some spots, the weeds are literally up to my chin. We’re finally getting nice weather, and things are slowly drying up. FINALLY.
Bluebird, watching me through the window.
George by the pond. On the up side, at least all the rain is keeping the pond full!
George would like his snack now, if you please.
Gracie can take 45 minutes to eat a Milkbone. George gulps his down in about half a second.
“You has another?”
Carpenter bee. Ugh. These things are everywhere.
The Azalea on the left side is so much bigger and happier than the one on the right. I have no idea why that is. Possibly because the one on the left gets more sun?
Cruella keeps an eye on you. Doesn’t she have a fabulous head of feathers?
The Angry Muppet. I’m surprised she hasn’t gone broody yet this spring.
“HEY! SHUT THE DOOR! I’M LAYING AN EGG. GAWD.”
We’re down to one rooster now, and he’s a big one.
Pretty hen.
LOVE the feathered legs.
Coming over to see if we’ve got a treat for them.
The Rock Star needs her yearly headfeather trim, I think.
The ducks. Remember how hard it was to convince them to go out to the pond? They’re out there all the time, now.
I tossed out some catfish food for the ducks, and the catfish showed up. Imagine that!
Okay, here comes the spider section. Click here to skip it.
Space
Space
Anti-spider space.
Space
Space
More space
Space
Space
For the
spider haters
who hate the spiders
like the haters they are.
Okay, good?
Maybe just a teeny bit more.
Okay.
That should do.
Remember Dolores, our Golden Orb Weaver, who set up her web next to the garage and got all fat and sassy and presented us with an egg sac… and then she did it a second time? This is what it looked like in September.
Not long after she created that second sac, she disappeared. And winter set in and I kept checking her egg sacs.
Then finally, one of them hatched!
Newborn Golden Orb Weaver. Try not to be TOO jealous of my fabulous manicure.
So teeny!
The babies all scattered pretty much immediately. It’s been a couple of months, and the second egg sac hasn’t hatched. I’m starting to think it won’t, but I’m keeping an eye on it.
I really hope one of Dolores’s daughters returns to that spot this fall.
I spotted an adorable little fuzzy spider hanging out on the wall in the hallway a few weeks ago. I took a zillion pictures of him, freaked him out, and then took him outside and set him free.
I mean, look at that face. Don’t you just wanna snuggle?
Okay, time to leave some space for the spider haters.
The haters of spiders.
Who hate spiders.
The big babies.
In our house, the only unwelcome spiders
are those who keep a messy web.
(Well, and Brown Recluses, of course.)
I cannot abide a messy web.
I mean, I don’t mind vacuuming up
discarded fly carcasses or whatever,
so don’t be leaving that stuff in your webs, spiders.
You know?
Okay
I think
that is
enough space
for the haters.
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Louis is all “I am wee, but I am strong, Skelton!” and Rickles (behind Louis) is all “He really is a tough little guy! You shouldn’t mess with him!”
Blue-eyed Louis.
Louis and Shecky, checking out the water bowls.
Little poser Louis.
“Hi, Mama, hi! Whatcha doin’, Mama?” (I’d like to blame the kittens for the food scattered all over that mat, but Lucy is really the food flinger in that room.)
Louis, Belushi and Gilda, crammed under the scratcher.
Rickles always looks so sad and pouty. “I am but a poor wee baby kitten…”
Gilda’s all “You wanna get that paw away from me before I bite it off?”
Shecky’s not sure what to do, now!
Roseanne and Louis are the two smallest, and not coincidentally, the two fiercest.
Wee Louis certainly does love his sunshine.
I can’t help it, I keep taking pictures of him because he’s such a good little poser (Azalea hat notwithstanding).
Louis snoopervises, while Shecky tries the water (verdict: “tasty!”).
“What you want, lady?” Skelton needs a kiss.
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Video! Kittens – Belushi, Gilda, Shecky & Rickles, in this case – are just the sleepiest creatures on earth.
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Oh, that Dennis. He is just the sweetest thing!
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Previously
2014: Thomas Tuesday.
2013: Meet the Dragons.
2012: No entry.
2011: Do you just get lucky with the pictures or do you take thousands daily?
2010: Prince Corbett.
2009: Such a big baby – he was whining at me because I wasn’t petting him enough.
2008: “We iz sleeping pls leave alone thx.”
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Louis in the sun needs to be a banner! And thanks for the Crooked Acres update and your spidey sense.
I am not a spider hater and can even appreciate the cute fuzziness of the single pictures, but that egg-sac picture just freaks me out. Too many spiders…
Dennis has just the most beautiful jade coloured eyes.
I agree about Dennis’ eyes. Every time I see a picture I think it’s just a trick of the light but I should know by now (since it never changes) that his eyes really are that beautiful a colour.
I agree, that boy has some beautiful peepers. 🙂
Love the Crooked Acres pics! Careful of those carpenter bees, they can do some serious damage to wooden structures. They ruined my trellis last year and put holes along our house. Kevin’s made and put up a couple wooden traps for them now though… catches several daily!! They’re disappearing. Been selling traps now, keeps him busy and their population down for others, too!! 🙂
Bees are always important and need respect! I think it would be more important to protect the wood and not trap them: http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=8049
the world is facing a bee pollution crisis. wish people will know it and save the bees
That would be ‘honey’ bees that are in crisis, not carpenter bees.
I’ve heard that they target raw wood – we’re having the house painted at some point this year, so hopefully that’ll take care of the issue.
Lol, George is doing his best lion impression by sporting an impressive winter-mane!
Hard to believe that Roseanne and Louis are the smallest of the bunch, they both seem so feisty and I doubt they’d take b/s from anyone! That being said – would they be considered the “runts” of their litter?
Yeah, George and Gracie are blowing their winter coats, and they need a lot more brushing before they’ll be ready for summer!
I had to go look up the actual definition of “runt”, because I tend to just use it to describe the smallest of the litter. According to Google a runt is an animal that’s smaller than average, so… I don’t know! They’re both well within normal range, but the smallest of the litter, so.. maybe?
Yay – Crooked Acres and George and Gracie and Chickens and ducks and Mr. Raccoon, um… what? All have come through the winter and rockin’ it this Spring!!! The kittens are so frickin’ cute! The sleepy kitten video is hypnotizing… now I know what my boss sees when he looks out his office every Monday.. or anytime after lunch.. albeit certainly NOT as CUTE as a kitten this girl staring at her computer screen!!!!!!
That fuzzy spider is a jumping spider. I find them all over the place this time of year. And I have a similar Sears Portrait Studio pic of one as well! I think their pedipalps (basically fangs) look like pipe cleaners.
I think they might be my favorite kind of spider, but I can NEVER remember what they’re called!
I used to be afraid of spiders, but now I respect that they’re beneficial (but anything that even looks like a brown recluse gets squished). But they still freak me out just a bit.
But my goodness, the photo of the jumping spider is fantastic.
Where do G&G hang out when it rains?
There’s a sheltered section at the front of the coop, where the feeders are, and there’s plenty of room for them under there. In the winter if it’s cold and rainy, they’ll go into the coop and hang out, and they can actually go into the shelter in the pig yard, since we don’t have pigs this year. But more often than not, I’ll look outside when it’s raining and see them just sitting there in the middle of the back forty, enjoying the rain.
At first, Shecky was my favourite but man-oh-man that little Louis is stealing my heart. Probably because he’s still so wee and babyish compared to his siblings. I would be smoochin’ every inch of his orangey goodness!
He is learning to put up with being kissed. Which is a good thing, because he’s very kissable! 🙂
I have the same dang coon problem that you do. I had one move in to one of my cat houses and of course it was one that was actually used by my cat Sammy (whose nickname is Monkey so this particular cat house was called the monkey house)up until the coon infestation. And talk about bold, it’s on the porch just a few feet from a door that’s used multiple times a day. I’d go out in the morning and there the masked bandit would be, piled up in there snoozing without a care in the world.
The monkey house! I love that. 🙂
We have one that hangs out under the old blue chicken coop (which we just use for storage now). He wanders out at dusk. At least he and the cats don’t seem to have an issue with each other, but I’d be perfectly happy for him to find somewhere else to be!
That raccoon looks awfully comfy in there. 🙂
the hounds appear to be kind of ….ummm…. overly fuzzy hahaha
that Louis – what a cutie
Love raccoons!!!
The more I read your blog, the more I love seeing your world. Love seeing your ducks, chickens, as well as the spiders (I am not a spider hater). Hope you scoot the raccoon off!
I can’t believe how big the Fools have gotten! I hope Louis and Roseanne stay small a little while longer, even as they squabble away!
Ok…we really need to talk about your cuticles…
that’s one smart coon you’ve got yourself there..
erm how did you know it was a Male racoon..not that it really matters, I’m just curious. like I know you can tell from colors of birds if its male/female
Coons? Well raccoons tried to get in our back porch, Momma just chase ’em off with a broom!