All sorts of critters out

[41 mag fan]

Boy it's been a heck of a week. Monday we had a bobcat in the woods out back, not even 20' from our back deck I was standing on, hoping it'd come out of the weeds so I could get a good look at it.
Yesterday evening, heard our lab out back give a mean snarl and bark, looked out back and she was chasing off a huge coon.
Then this morning, I was out on the front deck and a fox came out from across the road onto the pavement followed by 2 kits! Cute as a button to see.

We had 3 foxes last year, but only 1 is/was still around. It'll make it's rounds out back when it hears the dogfood hit the bowl. Within 10 minutes you'll see our lab and the fox eating side by side, then they'll play together, and hanna will hit her doghouse and the fox will sometimes lay down beside her house!! Really cute to watch, and how social they are.

Went back into the house this morning, came back out barely 30 minutes later, and low and behold the 3rd deer in 10 yrs I've seen was in our side yard feeding(3rd one I've seen in our yard that is in 10yrs). It actually let me go back in, get my phone, come back out and talk to it!! Good 30 second conversation I had with it!
Then just a few minutes ago, I was out on deck and here comes momma fox but this time with 1 kit, trotting down the road. Of course I started talking to her, asking her where her other baby was. She stopped for a good minute in the road and let me talk to her.....I hope the kit didn't get killed.
But heres a couple of pics of the deer. Must be from last years stock.

She was barely 10' from the edge of the garage here
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n569/91msd92/Photo05230709_zps77fc125c.jpg (http://s1140.photobucket.com/user/91msd92/media/Photo05230709_zps77fc125c.jpg.html)

And in this one, I was talking to her, telling her to get fattened up for winter!!
http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n569/91msd92/Photo05230709_1_zps512517cf.jpg (http://s1140.photobucket.com/user/91msd92/media/Photo05230709_1_zps512517cf.jpg.html)

People might think I'm crazy but I like talking to the animals that come into the yard, except for the skunks!

[41 mag fan]

We see the possums, but usually at night or dead in the road! Skunks we have but they don't come thru much that I see. Every once in a while you'll smell them outside where they've sprayed.

[Riverpigusmc]

My wife dodged a bobcat on our dirt road, I've had deer in our clearing here in the scrub, possum, skunk, fox on the porch, and saw bear track in the scrub behing the house....and when the rains came in the spring, a 5' gator wandering through the pines...no idea where he was going.

[10-x]

Our Grey caught a few "tree rats" just before Christmas. Wife raised all kind of cane, he killed a possum last spring and finally got "Rusty" last week. I don't have anything against rabbits , but hey , poor hound chased a fake one for 4 years, he deserves to"get one". Now, we have flying treerats coming to a feeder on a tree. Now they are cute as they can be and pretty tame. Put out sunflower seeds and about dark a flock/herd of them come and eat. Walk right up, 2 feet away and watch/talk to them. Friends say get one and make a pet. I'll leave them be, let them decide.If I had a decent camera I'd put up some pics.

[contender1]

Sounds like a day at work for me! (I'm an ADC guy!)
Be aware that rabies is an issue & is spreading to a lot more places. Be careful around wildlife!

[Charley]

Had a pretty credible report of a mountain lion grabbing a dog in the northwestern part of our county two days ago. Unusual, but not unheard of.

[Holescreek]

Summer before last the groundhog that lived under my shed disappeared and I started seeing a fox crossing the driveway in my headlights when I came home at night. The sightings increased and eventually we spotted a fox nursing two kits, living in the evacuated ground hog castle.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/Holescreek/foxbabysfeeding040311001.jpg

I mentioned them to my neighbor and he'd been wondering where all the animal bones that were getting left in his yard were coming from. Mama was bringing the meals home then discarding the waste in different yards. Eventually it got around we had foxes and some neighbors were upset that we were "keeping" them because the geese that wander the parking lots crapping on everything were disappearing.

Funny thing was that the day they moved out I saw the groundhog (fat as ever) moving back in. I live in the heart of a city at least a mile from wooded areas. It was a treat to watch the pups run and play in the daylight. My dogs didn't seem all that interested in them.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/Holescreek/foxbabys3040311006.jpg

[TCFAN]

Couple of years ago I was working behind my shop and heard a noise that I thought was my old tom cat wanting something to eat. Went to get him something and found that he was a sleep. I still was hearing the sound and I went to find out what is was.
Went around the corner of my shop and I found this guy laying in the yard



http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/xx200/TCintheOzarks/Game%20Camera/bobcat.jpg (http://s755.photobucket.com/user/TCintheOzarks/media/Game%20Camera/bobcat.jpg.html)

Went in the house and got the camera and took the photo.

Some people said that I should of just shot him but I saw no reason to. I have seen him several time since as well as several others. They come to the spring that is in our yard for water..........Terry

[41 mag fan]

Oh man that is some awesome pictures!!

[blackthorn]

My office/computer room is in the back side of the house. We have been living here for almost 8 years now and in that time I have had a small (yearling) bear and several deer looking in the office window. One little spike buck had his nose right up against the window glass. They seem attracted to the computer screen. I have had up to 14 deer on the back lawn at one time and several have come right up onto the covered deck to investigate Gail's plants. They usually scare themselves with the hollow drumming sound of their hoves on the deck. Last year we had a family of Chuckers (grouse type) but I havent seen them this year. We have a Marmot in the wood pile and Gail wont let me deal with it (thinks its "cute"). Jury is still out on that one! I was a bobcat about a quarter mile from the house and we often see Bears, either on the side of the road or crossing through the yard to go down to the river across the road from the house. Love it here!!!

[waksupi]

Got to keep an eye out this time of year. A woman here was attacked by a momma moose. I'm amazed she survived it.

[prsman23]

I almost hit a yorkie on a road just outside of E. St. Louis last night. Does that count?

[41 mag fan]

I almost hit a yorkie on a road just outside of E. St. Louis last night. Does that count?

Only if it's name is Shumer, Bloomberg, ect ect

[DLCTEX]

The wild animals know our dogs are confined by the fence and either ignore them or tease them. The deer and coyotes tease them. Some animals are dumb enough to get inside the yard and don't last long. The female Shepard got a nose full of quills when a Porky got close to the fence.

[TXGunNut]

I only have rabbits, crawdads, geckos and birds around here, unless a feral cat/pest control contractor counts. Kildees keep me on my toes this time of year when I'm mowing. Coyotes and feral dogs cause so much trouble around here they're generally shot on sight. Deer take a stroll thru every few years just to remind us we live in their back yard.

[Jailer]

This is from a couple winters ago. This little guy was being watched by momma on the other side of the bushes. It was about 4 in the afternoon and we live on a pretty busy main county road.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/Jailer/posting%20pics/Picture099resized.jpg (http://s19.photobucket.com/user/Jailer/media/posting%20pics/Picture099resized.jpg.html)
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b180/Jailer/posting%20pics/Picture102resized.jpg (http://s19.photobucket.com/user/Jailer/media/posting%20pics/Picture102resized.jpg.html)

[41 mag fan]

Looks like they've been there quite a bit from what looks like tracks in the snow

[Jailer]

They would eat the bushes down to nearly nothing every winter.

[Hardcast416taylor]

We live on a hill out here in cow country. For about the last 25 +/- years we have had a crossing route about 100 yds. behind the house for deer and about 40 +/- turkeys. Wife has pictures of these critters as close as 15` off our back deck eating dropped bird seed from our feeder. Coons and possums are fair game for me to try and ventilate, Before I had my big "C" work about 5 years back I "removed" 31 coons in 29 days.Robert

[PAI-Scott]

I am always amazed at the wildlife we get in our yard. I live in the middle of a city and we get rabbits, possum, skunks, ducks, geese, hawks, frogs turtles, and an occasional coyote. It sounds silly but the wife has some kind of flower that’s like cocaine to butterflies, and every other year we get a couple of days with thousands of monarchs stopping by.