The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

Tag: Wildlife

Other creatures in our world

  • A Night Visitor

    One of those midnight “I heard such a clatter” events: somebody or something was kicking a can all over the driveway.

    Turned out that a raccoon found the stack of carefully rinsed salmon cans in the recycling bin and was puzzling over how to get them apart. Evidently he figured there was something really delicious hidden in there somewhere!

    I had time to fiddle with the camera before he gave up and wandered away on his rounds…

    These are in near-IR “Nightshot” mode with my ancient DSC-F717 and the 1.7X teleconverter. They’re automagic crops from larger frames, walloped en masse with ImageMagick:

    
for f in *jpg ; do mogrify -crop 1200x900+700+450 -resize 750x563 $f ; done

    The gritty texture plays hell with JPEG compression, but that’s what the camera delivers. An incandescent spotlight on the driveway contributes the deep shadow, but an ordinary camera (my DSC-H5) produced completely black images, even with the high-power flash setting.

    Memo to self: start keeping the recycling bin inside the garage. But will that just piss off the bears that are moving (back) into the county?

  • Red Squirrel

    Red Squrrel - front
    Red Squrrel – front

    I cleaned the compost out of the gutters yesterday and this critter came by to help with whatever missed the wheelbarrow.

    Squirrels and chipmunks show how far you can get with a snappy color scheme and a good PR agent. These things are rodents, pure and simple, but those large eyespots trip your protect-the-baby response every time.

    They’re not particularly well-behaved, either: the chipmunks and gray squirrels have had running battles with them this spring. We think the area’s chipmunks had a population explosion and are shoving into traditional red-squirrel territory. Could get ugly out there.

    Where are the hawks when you need ’em?

    Red Squirrel - side
    Red Squirrel – side

  • Chipmunk on High Alert

    The chipmunks are busy cleaning up all the maple seeds from the driveway, but, being chipmunks, they like to stay near a safe spot.

    The absolute best spot to watch for danger seems to be the 4-inch PVC pipe I attached to the garage downspouts: you can see out, but when a threat appears you can run up the downspout!

    [Update: the Cooper’s Hawk just swooped on a red squirrel, missed, and landed on the patio railing as the rodent vanished up the pipe.]

    Chipmunk peering from drainpipe
    Chipmunk peering from drainpipe

  • Too Many Deer: Another One Bites The Dust

    One Less Deer
    One Less Deer

    Sat down for some tech reading in the Comfy Chair one morning and spotted a lump near the road, at the foot of the deer crossing warning sign.

    While I don’t know if this deer was one of that group, it’s a fair bet.

    There was no freshly smashed glass or broken plastic in the area, which indicates a relatively low-speed collision, the kind where the deer’s legs snap against the bumper and the body rolls over the hood, crushing sheet metal and deforming plastic frippery along the way.

    Many cars display that kind of damage around here. They look as though somebody walloped them with a huge sandbag, which is pretty much the case.

    The animal huggers seem strangely silent about such events. If they had the courage of their convictions, they’d subsidize drivers (and gardeners) affected by the deer overpopulating the area. But, no, they never offer to do that.

    I did find this in the driveway across the street…

    Deer Whistle
    Deer Whistle

    Before equipping your car with such gimcrackery, read that.

  • City Raccoon

    Raccoon in tree
    Raccoon in tree
    I met this fellow on my way out of a recent MHV LUG meeting; he was up a tree between the library parking lot and the adjacent (and rather busy) gas station / convenience store, minding his own business while performing body maintenance.

    That’s pretty much in the midst of the City of Poughkeepsie, but raccoons have figured out that the livin’ is easy around people. I’m sure he’s also figured out dumpster diving, although he’s likely not looking for discarded electronics…

    Love those eyes!

    Reflective eyes
    Reflective eyes

  • Warming Up on the Flight Line

    Flies on parking meter
    Flies on parking meter

    We stopped in Alfred NY to try out some trikes at The Bicycle Man, went to The Terra Cotta (not that one) for lunch, and parked on a side street. Every parking meter along the street (free on Saturday, fortunately) had an array of house flies parked along the upper edge.

    Perhaps this is the best place for flies to warm up before a flight? Was there a recent hatching?

    They swarmed off the meters as we passed, then settled back in the same way.

    Weird…

  • Mouse Tunnels Exposed

    Mouse tunnels in the grass
    Mouse tunnels in the grass

    The snows have retreated and it seems the mice have been busy tunneling in the back yard. If we cared more about the lawn, I’m sure I’d be outraged. As it is, the tunnels will be gone after a few mowings and life will move on.

    I didn’t spot their grainery, but I’m sure the grass will be greener around the latrine…

    Certainly these were different mice than the ones who made far more extensive living quarters out front, but they’re definitely relatives.