Hello Darkness

Over the last decade or so I have noticed that as November rolls along, the days get shorter, and overall everything is just darker...  unfortunately that also includes my mood.  I feel sad.  Maybe a little depressed?  It's odd because I do welcome the cooler, and then colder months.  I dread summer so much these days because of how hot and humid it gets here in Toronto nowadays, and my work is often unbearable with the hummidex in the mid-40's.  

With every season I look forward to things that nature has to offer.  The fall and winter brings us a wider variety of owls.  This time of year also brings us the return of Little Al, an eastern screech owl.  And like clock work, he returned this year on October 26th, the same day as the previous year.  I've spent so many hours over the last 4 winters watching this bird from the kitchen window.  A great distraction from the shit in life.  This owl was a blessing when Angie and I were sick AF with covid a few years ago, and during the lockdowns.  Having a backyard owl has been awesome and something I am proud to have attracted to our property.  I started with one box in a not so great spot 10 years ago and over the years eventually managed to perfect things, ensuring it had a safe place to roost where the squirrels could not get to him.

Then something happened just over a week ago.  I got a message on Facebook from a sort of neighbour who lives just up around the corner from us.  They said I've been a great influence through my community posts called Wildlife Wednesday.  Guess what happened.  They quickly got a screech owl to their box.  Guess what also happened.  We lost our screech owl visits.

It was a bitter sweet bit of news.  I mean it is nice to know there are others in the area who have an interest in our local wildlife; and are taking notice, and caring, because of my posts.  I've made a few friends through this, and at the very least some good acquaintances with others.

There's no denying that this news also stung.  Looking out to our yard and seeing the empty boxes.  If the bird shared visits between here and there, that wouldn't be so bad.  But for him to totally disappear.  OUCH!  I know I am being a bit dramatic since it's only been just over a week.  My sinking mood over the last month can be a big part of the blame.  Little Al may still come back, even if only for a day here and there.  His new roost is approximately 500 ft away.

I've told some about this.  I've not put it out to social media.  The reactions have varied with those who I talked to about this.  Silly anger which has been comical.  Positive support that I have influenced others.  The worst were those saying that I should never have posted about him visiting us in the first place.  I never bragged about him nor did I post constantly about him.  Having him find us and continue to visit was uplifting news.  It was a win win thing, providing him shelter, and having us be able to see one of the most elusive creatures in our neighbourhood right from our kitchen window.

So, yeah, what is turning into a normally dark time of the year sure has gotten even darker.  Insert sad face.

I've been trying to turn myself around but it is difficult.  Some other yucky stuff has been happening which I blog about soon.

We're on vacation this week and I look forward to all the fun and distractions that we have planned.

New Release Species

My tenth year of volunteering with the Toronto Wildlife Centre started off pretty good.  I had the opportunity to release a new bird species, that being a Wilson's Snipe.

A shout out was sent to the volunteer drivers about a need for someone to release some migratory songbirds.  I put my hand up and was the first to respond, so I got the gig.  As we were finishing up loading the car with the handful of birds that were in no wax paper bags and in a couple of boxes and I was about to leave, someone came out and asked if I could wait for one more bird.  I said "yes."  They said it will be a few minutes and mentioned the species being a Wilson's Snipe.  SAY WHAT?!?!  They gave me a release location which was very near where the spot where the song birds were going.

The traffic getting to the park was absolute hell.  It is just shy of 30 km to the location and it took me 55 minutes.  There was an accident on the 401 in the centre lane near Weston Rd so that caused a lot of interference with the flow.

I finally arrive at my destination and set all the song birds free.  There was a nice mix of juncos, white-throated sparrows, a fox sparrow and a couple of warblers including yellow-rump and one parula.  I did them all first because they could be released close to where I parked the car.  The snipe was going for a walk further in.

We get to the spot and I open up his "carrier".  I wait behind so he doesn't see me or any other people/threats.  Five minutes pass and he still isn't leaving.  Animals are like people, all with different personalities and reactions to things.  Some birds jet off quite quickly upon release while others are rather pokey and cautious.  Now with that traffic delay, I am pressed for time as it's about a 25 minute trek to work if that route is in good shape.  I decide to intervene and lift the back end of the carrier up, slowly, little by little, and either spook him out or gravity takes over.  It was gravity that assisted in this release and out came the snipe.

He took a few steps and then paused, looking around at where he was.  I remained still where I was other than grabbing my camera which was at my feet and took a few photos.  The tall grass along the marsh was mere feet away.  I was not going to leave this bird until he went in there, safe and out of sight.

I'm sure it didn't take too long but it did feel like it.  Work was screaming in the back of my head and I was hoping I could stop somewhere to get a coffee before going in.  The bird finally went into the grassy stuff and disappeared.  

Believe me, I was pretty excited about this release and while there was some stress with traffic and time, I did get lost in the moment of this release.  What a neat bird species.  I rarely see these unless we go up to the Carden Alvar in the spring.  So having this one right in front of me.  WOW!

I made it to work on time but unfortunately I couldn't get that much desired and needed coffee.  The snipe release kept me pumped and happy for the first little bit of the shift and I got myself a bigger coffee when break hit.

Here is the bird.  I should name it "Pokey".

Popping In

Thank you Eva for the reminder that I haven't blogged in some time.  It has been in the back of my mind to do one but the reasons are many.  It has been a brutally long hot humid summer.  So many days it was in the 40's with the humidex at my work.  Having to spend so much time in that building 5 days a week really kicked my ass.  It made me not want to do much of anything else when work was done besides relax and keep cool.  I regularly post to Facebook and Instagram so I sometimes think "why bother blogging?"

A family of raccoons living under our shed this summer has kept me happy and quite distracted.  That's a good thing I suppose.  Well for us anyway.  So many dislike these animals but I always try to promote that we can coexist with them.  They stay out of our garbage and off our roof.  That's all I really care about.  Plus with them living here, they aren't making a bathroom (latrine) of our backyard.  Hooray!  I'll have to do a blog about this family.  There is something very unique to this tale but you'll have to wait for another blog to read about it.

As you may recall, I am a volunteer with the Toronto Wildlife Centre.  I recently celebrated my 800th bird release.  And then a few weeks after that I celebrated my 10th anniversary as being an official volunteer.  Here is my 800th bird release, a ruby-throated hummingbird.  I was sitting quite a distance away waiting for it to go.

I can't help but wonder if I will ever see my 1,000th bird release.  It may be a few years before I hit that number.  Spring releases don't happen any more as the birds are usually released right in Rouge Park at the TWC east location.  Summer releases are few.  Same with winter.  So it is all about the fall, because the birds need to go west of Toronto and I am happy to take them if the opportunity presents itself.  Please note that I am not the only one to have this gig.

I'm now going on a countdown to 1,000 instead of continuing going up.  As of today, 199 to go.  I recently released a pigeon in a neighbourhood not far from home.  This bird was hesitant to leave the box and after many minutes of waiting, I had to give him a little help.  I tilted the box slowly and enough that finally gravity took over and out he came.  This photo was obtained by a screen shot of the video I was taking of his release.

Our girls Merry and Molly are doing great.  They're going to be 10 next year.  Wow!  Time flies.  Kinda freaks me out.  An older shot of them for Halloween.  I'm going to have to break out their costumes for another photo session soon.  Merry loves the attention.  Molly hates the hats and any clothes.

Our rescue budgie Frankie just had his second "got'cha day" anniversary with us.  He's a happy little boy who loves his castle of a home and has absolutely zero desire to leave it.  As long as he is happy, that is all that matters.  He's got 3 food sources, 2 water dishes, a cuttle bone, a mineral block, lots of toys and perches, plus a couple of mirrors which are his girlfriends.  Who knows where he came from?  I suspect maybe from the same place that our other backyard rescues came from, a bird breeder in the area.  There was 5 budgies flying around over a span of about 8 weeks, Frankie was the fifth, and I was able to catch him.  Here is a shot of the day and how I caught him, plus an insert of him from a couple of weeks ago.  We have no idea how old he is.

Angie and I are also doing well.  It's hard to believe that we've been together for twenty years now.  Angie has gotten back into blogging after quite a break, feel free to pop over and see what she's got to say about this or that; animals, foodie blogs, or just random life stuff.  Angieinto

Okay, see you all again soon.  Thanks for stopping in and not giving up on me and this blog.

Merlin Release

Last week I was offered the opportunity to release a merlin not far from where I work.  I jumped at the chance.  I've released well over 70 species of birds and a merlin is not on that list.  I should add that I am not competing with myself, or anyone else, but it's cool if I can add to these lists that I keep.

I brought my camera but had the idea to set my phone up on the other end of the roof of my car and take some video too.  I'm glad that I did as the release was over in seconds and the bird flew fast, high and far across a fenced off field.  From the video I managed to take some screen shots that I am sharing here, along with a YouTube link to the video.

It is one of my most memorable releases, perhaps because it is the only merlin I've released.  Here are a few screen shots...

Cropped...

One more...

Here is the YouTube link.  You can see how bad that bird wanted out of there.

How's this for maybe my shortest blog ever?

Wild Moment

We were blessed last week with a couple visits from Little Al the eastern screech owl.  Give thanks to Mother Nature for this happening with some really rainy weather.

The one day the weather cleared up rather fast come day time and Little Al sat at the entry hole for over 6 hours, from 1 PM until about 7:50 PM when he flew out for the night.  It was fun to see him all day just hanging out, enjoying the warm sun.  It was also interesting how none of the birds bothered him at all.  Was it his being a master of camouflage that kept him going undetected?

Well, until he flew out at last light and then a couple robins went crazy on him (from a safe distance).  Little Al ignored the yelling and had a good preen up in the cedars down back, stretching his wings and cleaning up his feathers.

Then a few days later we had another good soaking which started overnight and continued through the day.  Little Al had his head out early on, which I saw when having my morning coffee.  He disappeared for a while and then reappeared a few hours later.  All was good and quiet when suddenly in came a pair of northern mockingbirds.  

They took notice to him up at the box and these birds went absolutely ballistic on the owl.

Now it's always nice when Little Al is here.  Who wouldn't enjoy having an owl hanging out in their backyard?  Then add these mockingbirds.  We haven't had a mockingbird in the yard since 2017.  Back then we enjoyed one visiting our yard through the fall and winter, feasting on the holly berries, and the bird did this 3 or 4 years in a row.  So, on this day, having a pair was pretty cool.  We never had 2 of them.  Awesome stuff for a nature lover!

It was loud and chaotic out there for about 20 minutes with the birds yelling and strafing Little Al.  I wondered why he did not retreat into the box just to get away from those birds?  Maybe holding the gate was his idea of a best defense?  There was no way he could get attacked except from the front where he could see the birds coming.  I doubt the mockers would go inside the box, but if they did, they could corner Little Al.  Was that his thinking?

Here is some of the action that I captured with my camera while standing on the deck.

Little Al would hiss at the approaching bird(s).

It was non-stop for quite a while.

The ruckus got some of the other bird species all riled up and joined in the shouting at the owl.

Little Al would look down to them all.

I decided to try and disperse the mob by stepping out onto the lawn.  It worked faster than I thought.  Both of the mockingbirds quickly flew to a yard 3 doors over and I did not see them while I was home for another 90 minutes before work.  The sparrows went about their business.  Little Al disappeared into the box about 20 minutes after I went back in the house.

Angie got home later in the afternoon and Little Al was at the entry hole again.  She also saw one mockingbird in the yard but it was doing other things (looking for food, etc) and did not bother the owl.

What a wild moment!  Who needs to turn on the nature channel, eh?  

Not Again

A few weeks ago I started noticing a small raccoon out and about day and night, no specific times, just any time and that was that.  He was a little guy and a bit of an adventurous soul, only showing slight fear to humans (me).  

He wouldn't come to me for a hand out like some tamed raccoons that I have seen over the years, which is a good thing.  What I found is that there were days he would appear when I was feeding the feral cat Dusty and the raccoon would take over the food dish for himself.  I watched closely over this guy every time he showed up.  Those little peculiar things about him had me wondering if he had the early stages of distemper.  I never saw crusty eyes or really unkempt fur, so I kept holding out he was just trying to find his place in the neighbourhood, finally leaving his mother as I am sure she's ready to have a new litter soon.  I decided to nickname the little raccoon "the unruly one" and I meant it in the nicest way possible.  His appearances and antics were rather entertaining.

Dusty was never impressed by this fellow.  Many times he even pushed the cat out from under the shed, which is packed full of straw as I have mentioned in a past blog about Dusty.  I know this for certain as the unruly one would sometimes have straw stuck to his back end.

One early evening he was here with another much larger raccoon.  Was that his mother?

I posted a number of times about this raccoon on my social media platforms.  I vowed that I would keep an eye out on this new yard visitor as he looked like he was just going to get into trouble one of these days.  Well I sure proved those words just last week.

It was Thursday morning, right before the Easter long weekend.  I ran some errands early in the day, prepping for the 3 days off.  It was a nice sunny morning.  I was looking forward to the end of the work day which was about to start in mere hours.  As I was getting home with some groceries, I pass a raccoon on the side of the road just a couple houses away from ours.  He's just sitting there in front of a car and looking around.  I could tell something was wrong...  and of course I could tell it was the unruly one.  I let out one really loud and long swear word in my head.

I got the car in the driveway, emptied out the groceries and put them in the house.  The cold stuff went right into the fridge and everything else I just left on the counter.  I went to the shed and got an animal carrier along with one of Dusty's dishes which I put some cat kibble, shelled peanuts and a splash of wet cat food (Fancy Feast).  I also grabbed a large towel.  I set the dish in the carrier as I was walking to where the raccoon was.  He had some attention by a couple who were looking at him and trying to shoo him off the road.  Turns out it was their car that he was in front of.  They got in, leaving him there, and backed up, then drove around him.

I get to him, setting the carrier down and he's just looking up at me.  I said "ohhhhhhhhh buddy".  He was sitting in a small pool of blood.  He had an open wound on one of his back legs.  As I get the carrier in place, opening the door, he puts one of his front paws on my knee.  I look down to him, our eyes meeting and I tell him that I will take care of him.  I tap on the carrier and he moves closer to it.  He smells the food inside and takes a cautious step in.  I have the towel wrapped around my hand and I shove him inside, quickly shutting the door once he was in.  Door locked.  I drape the towel over the carrier and take him back to our front porch.  I have the door of the carrier facing the brick of the house to help prevent any escapes, even though I am certain he is secure.  It was just a precaution.

I go inside and contact the Toronto Wildlife Centre through their online reporting system.  It is much better than calling and leaving a voice mail.  Online you can submit photos, which I did, sending them this one of him.  Look at that innocent little face.  You can see some of his wound.  Was this a cry for help or what?

Thankfully TWC called me within about 40 minutes.  I was getting nervous on how long until they were going to call me back since I had to leave for work in a couple hours, and I still needed to get him up to the centre.  A bigger THANKFULLY that after some conversation and me answering some questions, they agreed to take him in.  I got myself ready for work as fast as I could.  Took care of our little zoo.  And away I went.  I checked Google maps and traffic looked okay.  27 minutes to get to the centre which is only 13 km away.  Kinda sad but that is city driving in Toronto and this is acceptable now.  I am at the last main intersection before getting to Downsview Park where the centre is when traffic is backed up and we are all being rerouted in any other direction except east towards the park.  There was a very serious accident.  ARGH!  It took another 15 minutes, which felt way longer, to get to the centre, taking Keele St north and then going through a number of side streets before coming out on the east side of the park.  So many confused drivers, not knowing where to go, made it a really shitty stressful drive.  But in the end, I made it to the centre, had a nice catch up with some people at the centre and then headed off to work, still having time to get myself a much needed coffee before starting my shift.  I should add that I gave the centre a $50 cash donation for the raccoon.  That was not to get some praise or recognition but to remind some that the centre runs on donations and anything helps.  It was the least I could do for the centre since they agreed to take the raccoon in.  If I had called animal services, they most likely would have euthanized him without any assessment.  

I was feeling pretty good about this "rescue" and had high hopes for the unruly one.  I had a drink on his behalf after work that night.

Also, get this...  when I got home from work that night, Angie was still awake, just about to go to bed when she told me there was something on the computer desk for me, something that came in the mail.  I asked from who.  She said there was no return address.  I opened to find this along with a very short note and again no name to it.  A really cool yet mysterious surprise.  And of all the days for it to arrive in the mail, the same day I had to catch and help this raccoon.  

We have since found out who sent it.  A friend and of course a fellow nature lover.  Still, the timing on this blows my mind.

I waited out the weekend before trying to track down anyone who could give me an update.  On Monday I contacted some "friends" I have in the centre.  Sadly I got news that I did not want to hear...  he was euthanized.  His wound was pretty bad but more so they were quite certain that he had the early stages of canine distemper.  His body condition, the fur and his behaviour were all big red flags.  I did ask them to put in his notes/file that he was not terrified of humans and I know there's a few in the area who are "extra friendly" to the wild ones.

This news hurt.  I didn't want to believe their distemper theory but they see way more of this stuff than what I do, and perhaps I just didn't want to see it as that.  Days after the fact I think back to last summer and one that I caught who acted similar, and was a bit further gone, just starting to show the crusty eyes and nose.  *sigh*  The more recent raccoon that I caught, see my last blog, was really far gone with the virus.  How many more will I come across?  Again, they are predicting a very bad spring with distemper in the animals that can get it.

Rest in peace little one.  You were unruly but I loved you as one who admires and appreciates all that nature has to offer us.  

I'm holding on to my favorite memory of him, which was just a few nights earlier.  I was out in the shed after work.  It was pouring rain.  He came out from under the shed, stuck his head in through the open door and looked at me.  I said "come on in" and he did.  He walked around the shed, sniffed a few things and then when I took a step to do something, that spooked him and he ran out and back under the shed as quickly as he could.  I can still see his face looking into the shed, with all that rain coming down.  I took a crappy photo of him...

I used my AI app to make the image a little better for story telling.

I've been missing the unruly one this week.  As I said, he was a great distraction and addition to the backyard.

I wish this were the last distemper case that I come across for a while but I am not holding my breath.

S**T! Distemper

The other week I got home pretty late one night after doing a bit of shopping after work.  It was about 11 PM when I pulled into the driveway.  I saw a raccoon out on the sidewalk and thought "oh cool!"  A raccoon in Toronto at night is pretty common.  Next thing I know he is between my car and the one next door.

Interesting and really not that odd around these parts.  Most will scurry off to safety but some linger around, being used to people and I'm sure some do expect a hand out as many feed these animals.  As I unloaded the couple bags from the car, he moved in closer.  Don't mind the below image and its shape, unintentional artistry.  

Next thing for me and this raccoon is it following me up the steps to our porch/front door.  Okay, now this is getting weird and concerning.  I was fearing something was wrong with him like distemper but held out hope he was just overly tamed by someone around here.  It was too dark to really get a good look at him, and our Christmas lights are still up, emitting a light blue light to everything.

And as I went back to the car, he would follow me there.

Whenever I stopped, he would start to grab my shoes and pant legs.  A red flag that I didn't want to see.

With it being so late now and I was so tired, I had to shut out the situation and would look out for him in the morning.  I still had this silly hope that he was not sick.  As I was about to go inside, he came to me one more time.  Photo edit to B&W and I could see his eyes were maybe not quite clear.

I was out of bed around 7:20 AM and went to look out to the backyard.  I do this every day.  Will I see a screech owl at the box?  Will I see our feral cat friend Dusty down by the shed waiting for breakfast?  And on this morning, will I see the raccoon?  My answer to that last question is "yes".  He was wandering down at the back seemingly without a purpose, just going back and forth.  S**T!

I was barely dressed and didn't have the coffee on yet.  I threw on my coat, yes I had pants on, and went down to investigate.  As I neared the raccoon, he quickly came to me.  Again, like the night before, started grabbing my shoes and pant legs.  Why do they do this?

I had a better look at him and sadly his eyes were crusty and runny.  I take pictures for potential blogs and social media posts but also in times like this, it's great for when I need to report something to the wildlife centre or animal services.  Look how bad his eyes are!

In the past, before I knew anything about distemper, I would have taken a hundred pictures of the animal and left him, knowing he wasn't well, but having no idea what was wrong.  Then even just a few years back I would have hummed and hawed at this, not sure if I should call it in as I knew it would be euthanized.  That's a tough pill to swallow.  You catch the sick animal who then will be "destroyed".  No, please, not the cute little raccoon!  And to now in the present, knowing it is the best thing for him and the other animals.  He will not suffer any longer, getting worse.  He will not spread it to the other animals.  While we don't have minks who can get it, and there's few coyotes wandering around, there are a lot of raccoons and skunks (who can also get it).  Oh, then there's the dogs who are vulnerable if they aren't up to date on their shots.  There's a lot of people who will argue this, stating we have not given the animal a chance to get better.  I just had it out with someone yesterday online about this.  They told me to not jump to such a conclusion which I did not, I only suggested it could be and to look for other signs regarding a raccoon in someone's yard during the day grabbing the person's shoes and pant legs.  Every day this week I have seen post after post about people seeing raccoons out during the day, just wandering aimlessly.  

Okay, back to the story...

I knew he had to be contained.  I got a large carrier from the shed.  I found a plastic lid and put some peanut butter as well as some stinky wet cat food on it.  I put the carrier on the ground with the door open and the bait inside.  The raccoon caught the scent of the food and a few times only stuck part of its head inside and then quickly backed out.  He would then go for my shoes again.  I kept turning in circles with him, trying to keep the carrier door facing him.  A few more times his head went in and then he'd back out again.  I tried tapping on the back of the carrier which got his attention and even had him go a little further in, only to quickly back out.  So close!  I saw one of the plastic snow shovels leaning against the fence.  A light went on in my head.  I grabbed the shovel, held it with one hand and then knelt down, tapping on the back of the carrier.  The raccoon went to the carrier, put his head in, right up to his shoulders.  In a flash I used the shovel, gently but firmly, I pushed his back end into the carrier.  I tilted the carrier up, so the door was facing the sky, and shut and locked the door.  The plastic floor, with the help of gravity, made the raccoon slide to the other end, allowing me to do this.  I should add that he had a moment of clarity during this and he tried to get out but he couldn't get a grip.  I threw a towel over the carrier and that was that.

I called 3-1-1 and filed a report.  Soon after someone from Toronto Animal Services called me and asked me a handful of questions, mostly regarding my observations of the raccoon.  He then wanted confirmation that it was contained.  They are quicker to come out knowing the animal is contained than follow a report of one looking sick and freely wandering around.  They have limited resources and cannot "waste" time coming out for an animal who may not even be there when they arrive.  You don't have to get it into a carrier if that isn't possible, but even a box over it and someone staying with it until they get there is very helpful.  The man thanked me for all my help and making their job all that much easier.  Then within the hour someone came for him.  The person was very nice, gentle and had the patience and care for the raccoon.  Instead of forcing it out of the carrier, she held up a net to the door and waited until the raccoon came out on it's own.  It only took about 10 minutes and we had a low tone conversation while waiting.  The chat was eye opening and educational for me.  We talked about a past awful outbreak of distemper where they were collecting between 100 and 150 sick animals per day for over 2 weeks.  They were concerned about this spring and another outbreak since we didn't have much of a winter to slow the virus down.  I've since heard it has really hit the skunk population just north of us.

So, yeah, this happened about 2 weeks ago, and thankfully with all the raccoons that I have encountered since, none appear to be sick.  Let's hope it stays this way.  

Thanks for stopping in.  Have a great weekend if you are catching this blog on the day I posted it as it is Friday!!!!!  Cheers!

Changes

With Ripper and all the pigeons gone, the yard has a very empty feel about it.  Sure there are other squirrels out there, some are regulars which may get names once we are outside more often.  Maybe the pigeons will return one day in the spring.  But for now, it kinda makes me feel sad.  The owls are hit and miss to the box, more miss with this ridiculously mild winter lacking snow.  So, yeah, just blah...

In the fall I packed the dog house with fresh clean straw and the leftovers that I had got rammed under the shed.  You know, providing shelter for the wild ones if they need it.  Past winters raccoons, skunks and opossums have used these spots to hide out during the day or even spend a few days in when temperatures really dropped.  Again, with these mild temperatures, there's been few "guests".

Then, suddenly, a few weeks back, this feral cat started using the dog house and under the shed.  We'd seen this cat roaming the neighbourhood for at least 3 years now.  I can probably count on both hands how many times he has come through our yard over the years.  He was mostly seen out on the street and sidewalk.  He's a muscular tom cat and has seen some s**t in his life.  The scars on his face and one noticeable shoulder wound are testimony to that.  He walks with a bit of a limp too.  If only he could talk and tell of what he has been through.  He's very skittish and has little trust of humans.  I get that.  I don't trust a lot of them myself.

One morning on social media, there was a post about a fund raiser for some cat rescue.  I chimed in about this and that, and ended up sharing a picture of the feral cat here.  Next thing I know, I was being contacted by someone from the rescue and there was a discussion about doing a TNR with him.  What is TNR?  Trap, neuter, and release.  A great idea to help stop the spread of more feral cats.  The rescue has had some luck with homing some of these kittys but there's no promise to that.  I'd love to see him off the street and some place safe where he may be loved by some caring person who has the patience and understanding to work with him.  I'm sure he wouldn't be all "open arms" to suddenly being indoors after so many years of living on the street.

Since I am willing to work with this cat, I have to get him on a routine of coming here, a feeding schedule, and next will be to slowly lure him with food in a live trap.  Now here we are with a "yard cat". 

On the colder nights, I find him in our dog house.  Not that I go looking but when he hears me down back, he will run out of the house and go to the next yard over.  I always say "sorry" and step back.  I'm glad he is using the house.  I've since put a heavy towel across the entrance to give him more privacy.

He doesn't spend all day and night here but he is here more often than he has ever been.  It has been interesting watching him in the yard.  On cold sunny days he can be found snoozing on these 2x4's next to the shed.  The wood warms up in the sun and must feel good on his feet.  I took this picture from the kitchen window.  I didn't want to go out there and spook him away from this nice spot.

I am thankful that he doesn't chase birds or wildlife.  That would be a big problem here in our wildlife friendly backyard.  He walks past the juncos, cardinals and other birds, maybe gives them a glance and then keeps on moving.  He can run when he wants to despite that limp.

If I am not out there in good time with food for him, he comes out from under the shed and sits there looking up towards the house.  Haha!  Who is training who here?

Last week we were at the point of where he would sit safely on the other side of the fence from the shed but still only be about 15 ft from me and he would watch me.  Unfortunately something has happened to him in recent days.  Maybe someone was mean to him?  He's taken a couple steps back in the progress that we made.  He's back to being very skittish and really keeps his distance, or hides further back under the shed, sometimes out of my sight line but I am sure he can still see me.  

I'm disappointed about that but happy that he is still coming here everyday.  Hopefully in the not too far off future he will be caught, tended to, and maybe if we're lucky, be homed.  If not, he will be brought back out to "the street" here and at least won't help make kittens.

Angie has named him Dusty.  We watched a WWE documentary on Dusty Rhodes the other weekend.  Dusty had a hard life.  This cat has had a hard life.  There you go, his name is Dusty.

As people should realize, when you leave food out for an animal, you will most likely attract other animals.  Depending on where you are, mice, rats, raccoons, skunks, opossums, foxes, coyotes, other feral cats and who knows what else may come in to clean up the dish.  So far we've had a few visits from this guy.  We're okay with that.  He can use the help during the winter.  He's harmless and can be beneficial to have around.  

I know this is the same opossum that was around quite a bit back in the fall because of his scarred nose.  He hasn't been much of a regular the last 2 months but has shown up a few times in the last week.

You can see a very short video here of him enjoying his score of Dusty's leftovers.

Wish us luck in helping this cat.  And if you might have any suggestions on who or another organization that may help get him off the street and into a good home, please comment.  I don't think Toronto Animal Services would be a good choice as they have told me that good cats go into the adoption system whereas bad cats get euthanized.  They have too many cats coming in all the time and don't have the time or resources to work with cats with behavioral issues.

We have helped a few other cats over the years.

First there was Skittles who was living in our old shed for some time one winter.  It didn't take long to train her and get her accustomed being fed.  Then we worked on finding her a home, which Angie lucked out with someone through her work.  Skittles became Sabrina with her new family and has been living the life of a spoiled rotten princess ever since.  We had a reunion with her about 11 years after she was caught and homed.  It warmed my heart to see her even though I'm sure she didn't remember me.  So many mornings I was almost late for work, making sure she got fed before I went.  I was working days back then and having to leave home by 5:15 AM.

Then there was Smudge.  A lovey big boy.  We tried to home him but weren't so lucky.  I ended up taking him to Toronto Animal Services because having him in our yard wasn't Meadow approved.  She loved being outside, on leash and harness of course, and couldn't stand any cat coming to her domain.

He was such a handsome boy.

Meadow didn't care how good looking he was.  She hated him and really did want to hurt him.

I visited Smudge a few times at the shelter.  It pained me seeing him a cage.  I was told that he got adopted out after a few weeks.  I hope that was true.

Then, last but not least, there was Sinatra.  A tiny black kitten that found his way to our backyard and realized that under the shed was a great place to hide from anything that freaked him out.  I worked quickly on this cat as I know helping a little kitten, or getting a little kitten help is much easier than helping an adult.  I'm forever thankful that the Toronto Cat Rescue immediately put their hand up to take him in if I caught him.  Three days after he appeared here, he was caught and some weeks later the mother of someone from the couple that were fostering him adopted him.  

Sinatra was adorable.  What kitten isn't?  We played with a ball out back a handful of times before he went away.  I still have that ball in the shed all these years later.  I am immediately taken back to that time with him.

Him and his ball.  Did you just go "awwwwwwwww!"?

So maybe "Changes" is not the perfect title to this blog but the whole yard vibe certainly has changed this winter.  If you told me even just months ago that I'd be trying to help a cat, welcoming it to hang out in our backyard, I would have said "you're high!"

I'll be back soon with some wildlife photos and bits.  Cheers!

*sigh*

I'm feeling a little down lately.  The dark dreary days that we have been experiencing this January are a big factor.  Obviously there's something else, something animal related, otherwise I wouldn't be blogging about it...  I'm missing my animal friends.

For starts, Ripper disappeared in June of 2023 when all the new young squirrels started emerging from nests around us.  He's done this before in his elder years (5 months the previous year).  My take is that he just didn't want to be bothered with these young'uns and perhaps the competition.  He always came back.  I am aware, as much as I hate to admit it, that one day he wouldn't return.  I'm guessing that is the case this time.

I won't lambaste yas with a ton of photos of Ripper.  I think everyone who knows me or of me through my blogs and social media pages knows about this squirrel.  He was awesome and a highlight to the day anytime he came around over the 6 years.

Then we befriended a chipmunk in 2022 that Angie named Boop.  She was a real character and quickly took to being friends with us.  Boop made quite a tunnel system in our yard and overwintered with us.  I remember the day in late February 2023 when she emerged.  We never had something like that before with a chipmunk.  

Knowing she lived in our yard and slept underground down there through that winter was a sweet feeling.  One day I should blog about all the creatures that sleep in our yard, that we know of.

We do get chipmunks from time to time around the neighbourhood but none are ever long lasting.  Too many free roaming cats is one of the main reasons they don't last.  I also suspect there's a few around us with rodent traps.  Traps do not discriminate.  Boop disappeared last July.  I'd rather not think about what happened to her.  Just know that this tiny little girl touched our hearts and was a pleasure to get to know over the one year she was with us.  Morning coffee on the back deck in the summer was highly entertaining with her.

Then late summer, over the Labour Day long weekend, Gulliver too went MIA.  I blogged about her a few months ago.  She was an awesome pigeon friend; well they all are but some stand out more than others.  I always looked out for her and babied her.  I don't know what happened to her and I still hope that maybe one day she will return.  As time passes, that hope fades.  I remind myself of Pierre's long absences, and Charlie's too which broke Pierre's record for days away by a long shot.  Fond memories come to me as I look at all the pictures that I took of Gulliver over our time together.

A lot of the pigeons disappeared that weekend, or soon after.  The air show scared the heck out of them.  Then the fall migration brought in the cooper's hawks.  A few pigeons hung on to the 'hood as a feeding spot despite the dangers that lurked.  A couple birds, that I know of, lost their lives to the hawks.  One pigeon was unwell and became an easy target.  Then just last weekend, one lone bird came in early Sunday morning and *BOOM*.  That last pigeon was the only pigeon I had seen anywhere around here in over a week.  Since then, zero pigeons anywhere around here, not even on the wires along the main road.  I've been blessed with "pigeon friends" since the summer of 2012 when Pierre first flew into our lives.  Who ever thought that could have happened, befriending so many pigeons?  Who ever thought that there would be an end to all of this?  Maybe I am being over dramatic?  Maybe some of them will return?  Or, eventually, as the weather turns to spring, the hawks move along to nesting territories away from here, new pigeons will discover our yard, and maybe see me as their friend?  Time will tell.  In the past, there has been some dry spells but things feel different this time.  I've always said that I'd rather them be elsewhere, hopefully safer, than here and becoming prey.  I still mean that but man I do miss them.  It's only a few minutes out of my day, but it's been every day, well almost, for over 10 years.  Surely you can understand my sadness here.

If anyone would like to get the scoop on the whole pigeon thing, I ask that you check out the blog link I am adding.  I did it for Bird Canada a few years ago.  It is called Pierre and the Flock  

Happier blogs coming soon.  I promise.  I will get myself out of this.

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As for those who have asked me about how to follow my blog since Blogger took away the notification thing, at least that is what it seems to me with what happened.  I don't know what to tell you.  Angie, not my wife Angie, but the other Angie who commented in the last blog about this and what Blogger told you to do.  I will look into this on my end; but believe me when I say that I am not much of a "tech geek" so having me figure it out may not be an option.  HAHA!  I will try though.  Thank you for your kind words and wanting to follow me on these "adventures"!