SCENES OF ANIMAL LIVES

I live in a quiet neighborhood filled with all sorts of species, none of which thankfully, view me as a potential meal. Between being home more since I retired, fortunate in having a large picture window and lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, I have witnessed some scenes of animal life most haven't encountered.

RABBIT PLAY

Being late summer, many species born this season are well into their teens. This year, we have a trio of young rabbits and while most of us have seen them play games of tag and leaping around each other, I recently saw an unusual event. In the back 40 is a berm with honeysuckle bushes planted in 2 rows, one at the base of the berm closest to the house and another near the crest. Last summer, I cleared the area which had been overgrown and overrun with the nasty and deadly vine, the Virginia Creeper. The ground now is generally leaf covered or bare soil on the slopes. One early evening, C and I were eating supper at the dinner table next to the picture window and saw two young buns frolicking. One in particular was engaged in something neither of us had seen: hopping up the slope and rolling down, giving his coat a good dirt bath. He'd stop a bit at the base and rolled side to side like a dog then scramble back up to repeat. Fun and practical!

CLEAN-UP ON SUNSET DRIVE

We see turkey buzzards every day, circling the sky, catching a nice thermal and soaring. Their job in the natural scheme of things is that of janitor like crows and possums. Nature is rather tidy-dead things are cleaned up with the janitors doing the lion's share along with insects and microbes. Usually we see them already at work with roadkill but the other day, I witnessed a longer version. One morning driving home, I saw that there was a dead bun in the middle of my street. I parked in the garage and was walking out to check the mail box when I saw a sky janitor circling low. He swooped and glided down through the tree tops. High in the sky, they don't appear very large but now, their true size becomes rather shockingly apparent. They're huge and this one looked like a black 747 as it came down and landed next to the dead bun. Mr. Buzz hopped once, flapped his wings a bit like cracking his knuckles and settled down to the task at hand. He made short work of the corpse and within a few hours, the clean-up was complete. Nothing left except for, as an old roommate used to say, a grease spot on the pavement. So, when you see these guys in the sky, remember that they just aren't up there flying around. Nope, they are looking for their next job in the never ending cycle of life and death. These days, there's many a retailer and restaurant owner who would give their eye-teeth for a couple of employees with these guy's hard-work and dedication.

A YOUNG SQUIRREL'S LESSON

One early evening awaiting supper, I had the fortune to have a front row seat on squirrel training. In the big birch by the picture window, a mom squirrel was giving Junior some important lessons in branch jumping. As an inducement, she was a walking snack but what Junior didn't realize, she was trying to wean him.She would move out on a limb, wait for Junior to follow then quickly jump to another. It was up to the kid to figure out the best route. She would quickly turn away in denial and run up the trunk to another limb. Hungry Junior would try and follow with mixed results. You could see the learning going on: oh yeah, this branch is too thin-it can barely hold my weight and won't give enough support to launch off from. Lots of trial and error. Mom went very high as she gave Junior more and more puzzles to figure out. Suddenly, I saw Junior fall. I don't know if he had missed his mark or his grip had failed. He fell in slow motion, all four legs spread, floating almost with his scant weight. He bounced once upon landing. Mom saw this and scurried down the trunk to see if he was ok. Predictably, he immediately went for a teat and was denied. "Awww c'mon Ma,  I just fell out of the tree. There should be some kind of reward". Nope. Mom ran off with Junior in hot pursuit. Carrots and sticks-such is life.