Adventure Dog

[Hrairoo]

This is my outdoor partner, Colby. I work from home, so, he and I go for a walk once every two hours or thereabouts, for a total of 7 walks a day. My driveway is about a quarter of a mile long and we're surrounded by trees on all sides. I call him my adventure dog because at least every other day, we'll see something cool outside in nature. This will be my little spot to record stuff I see on my walks with Colby. Feel free to comment!

Stuff we've seen as of starting this thread:

A falcon/hawk: One time, while walking down the driveway, we were stopped as a big bird flew over us. It roosted in a tree about 10 ft from where we were standing, so, I got a good look at it. It had the brown top, white belly that is speckled brown, and black tears that I associate with falcons. But looking it up, the differences seem to be size, wing span, and hunting style. I didn't really get a look at the shape of the wings and its size sitting on that tree branch seemed big to me, in the fashion of a cat-size. But without another bird next to it, it's hard for me to say whether it was falcon or hawk. We got to stand there looking at it for a good 2 mins before it made a sound and flew deeper into the woods.

A beaver: There is a pond over the bank of my yard and one time nearing twilight on one of our walks, we spotted a little beaver swimming around. He'd occasionally stop to chew a twig in his hands but he didn't notice us right above him until it was time to go and I started to turn away quietly(Colby does this thing when we encounter animals outside; he stands stock still and stares quietly and will stare for a long time until I move. Then he's jumping and barking at it and usually startles it away). I could see the dam he was building a stone's throw from where I was standing. However, after hurricane Laura, the dam has been washed away and we haven't spotted any more beavers.

A deer: Deer is what we see the most. There's a couple of does that frequent the property. I'm pretty sure they're the same ones because we see them year after year. I call them the three sisters but it's likely a mom and her two grown daughters. Anyway, one time walking at twilight, I could hear a banging echoing from my neighbors yard(I think he was working on something). After just a bit of walking, Colby and I stopped to listen to more of the banging and out of the woods ahead of us steps a doe! She was big and red and close! If I threw a rock at her, I coulda likely hit her on the side without trouble. Colby did his "stand and stare" thing so all three of us just stood there staring silently for a full 5 minutes. With the twilight, it was a very sweet and magical moment. It ended with a grunt from her as she turned back the way she came and Colby was triggered and started bouncing and barking at her.

 

[Brightmoon]

Lucky you, I live in NYC I might see a pigeon with unusual color. Though I’ll admit that I’m starting to see a larger variety of birds because the city is planting more trees to help deal with global warming. I used to see just pigeons and sparrows . Now I see crows, starlings, mourning doves, some little zebra striped bird I’m still trying to ID and others. I have heard of coyotes living in Queens and in the Bronx but they get relocated once they’re tracked down as they’re can be dangerous for small dogs ,cats and children

 

[Brightmoon]

I just got the ID on that zebra striped bird . It’s a warbler. And how could I forget about our monk parrots . The story is they escaped from a shipment container at JFK airport back in the 70s . They’re doing fine but they tend to annoy Con Ed ( electric company) as they build huge nests on top of the wire poles

 

[Brightmoon]

 

[Hrairoo]

Ohhh! Very cool, @Brightmoon ! I was just gonna say, when you get a chance, update us about the zebra striped bird. And that is interesting about the monk parrots. I never knew that.

 

[Brightmoon]

My mom had a ginormous monk parrot nest outside her house on the pole that caught fire . Boy was Con Ed annoyed.” Why didn’t you call us “ . I liked them they were noisy and rather sociable and I used to watch them flying around and interacting

 

[Brightmoon]

Loved Watership Down I forgot about the rabbits on Long Island near Hempstead. The college kids used to free the extra lab rabbits and they tended to survive around an enormous mall close to the college.

 

[Lost4words]

I always take my owner out twice a day for a walk and get him to throw the ball and run around.

I still cant get him to pee against a tree or lamp post! Frustrating as he needs to stop peeing in the house!

 

[Brightmoon]

I used to have this German Shepard/ Doberman mix who was the sweetest most patient dog I’d ever met . Looked like a GSD but had that Doberman coloring. Of course we named him Blackie . He got desperate one day when we weren’t home and he figured out that we went in the bathroom and not on the floor . So he pooped in the tub ( they gotta poop around here somewhere - aha! )

 

[Joyous Song]

I love your stories, we have a couple ourselves.

One time I and my dog where walking through tall grass when we came upon a fawn. We slipped away afterward and was glad its mother knew that fawn was safe in our high grass.

Another time our cat Honey Suckle came home badly beat up. We fixed him up but did not know what hurt him. Then one day our dog, Noah came through the grass toward him and Honey Suckle glowered angrily . This hurt Noah's feelings, they were friends and he whined when he saw this. Honey Suckle realized his mistake and rubbed his leg letting him know he was sorry.

We strongly suspect Noah was a wounded coyote, that was tamed down through a accented that left a hole in his scull. So our cats reaction suggested he run into a coyote and survived but we had no proof.

Then one day we with Noah leashed and Honey Suckle in tow started walking through our woods. We turned to a natural valley in the woods, where grass looks trimmed and fine, when Noah grew excited and Honey Suckle wined and literally tried to push at our feet to stop our progress. We turned around trusting the cat over the dog at that moment.

Later in the fall we once again went walking and started in that direction and dog was tame and cat peaceful. When we reach the forest valley Noah raced to a log, sniffing excitedly, We came over and realized a female Coyote had her pups there.

After this we had proof what had attacked our cat and also that honey Suckle likely saved our lives that day. So, yes, living in the country is interesting, and nature, wonderful, but like our ancestors, we should not get too confident. Wild animals are still out there and some of them are dangerous. That why you are extremely wise to take your dog with you just in case.

 

[Hrairoo]

@Joyous Song thank you for sharing your tales as well. We have a coyote problem around here too. During the summer months, we have fans going and air conditioners in the windows, so, we don't hear much at night. But during the fall and spring months when I have the windows open but it's too cold to run the air, we can hear them at night. It is fascinating, thinking of our ancestors writing gothic stories about the spooky sounds at night. It truly IS eerie. It sounds like a bunch of laughing echoing over the hills, like the noise a hyena makes. But it is actually the excited yipping of coyote pups cajoling their mother bringing something down for them to eat.

We don't raise any animals, it's just my dog and I. But a couple years ago my neighbors had chickens and they would occasionally bemoan the loss of them in the night.

 

[Hrairoo]

An eventful morning. Not even 8:30 and we hadn't gone for our first walk of the day yet, and Adventure Dog was working his magic and bringing the action to us.

Spoiler: pics

A young baby buck came traipsing through the front yard right outside my bedroom window. As soon as we saw it, Colby got into his staring stance and stood there tensed like that(view first pic) for about half the time we sat watching the deer. Eventually, he laid down, ramrod straight, ears perked forward, and still staring. He only broke his silence when the little buck eventually turned and jogged back into the woods. At that point, Colby started to bark and whine in the most excited fashion, running to the front door, running back to the bed, etc.

The buck first came down the yard with the trees between us. The tree pictured has an old "tree house" in it(it was first erected 10 years ago; kids that lived here are all grown, and all that remains of it is the base and one wall). Then he came down to the edge of the tall grass and came around in front of the same tree. He was close enough that if I casually tossed a rock, I could hit him in the side. He was just a little four point spiker(he had antlers but each only had two points). Likely last years fawn.

At one point as he's circling the tree house tree, I see he keeps opening his mouth widely. Then it hit me: the tree house tree is a crab apple tree. The ground is littered with crab apples right now. He was likely drawn by the fruit and chomping away at the golf ball sized morsels. He was in the yard for a good 10 mins before he trotted off.

 

[Brightmoon]

Coyotes oh boy , we have them in NYC believe it or not . Long time ago I worked for the city information line 311 and got a call from a woman claiming to see a coyote in Queens . I had to tell her she wasn’t crazy . Animal control catches them and either takes them out of the city or euthanizes them

 

[Hrairoo]

Yesterday was a mostly "small critters" kind of day.

11 a.m. walk - In the backyard, Colby and I went frog hunting. There is a little creek near the edge of the woods that attracts the little jumpers to the grassy back lawn. Colby is not very good at catching frogs(I'd say he has a 20% success rate) but he loves to try. With his front paws flopping on the grassy ground, ears perked forward, butt in the air, with his tail wagging with small yet quick little waves, he's the perfect picture of Pokey Puppy, enjoying the stimulating hunt.

I saw a jumper near the edge of the back porch and directed Colby to it but he was just missing it and the little thing had burrowed into the lower reaches of the grass stalks. So, I hunkered down to start parting the grass, to see if we could find it. We did! It wasn't a frog, though. A huge grey and brown grasshopper hopped up out of the grass and landed on the outside of my thumb. It was a gorgeous bug, with grey-green base color and many brown lines and spots on its body.

1 p.m. walk - Another critter we like to engage with but is unicorn-rare, are red salamanders. They're common here but they don't venture to the driveway where we walk very often. Yesterday, we saw one but since Colby is colorblind, he couldn't see the red against the green grass. They don't move very fast, so, I brought the little one to a puddle in the gravel driveway. When in the water, salamanders wiggle like a tadpole when they swim.

I didn't know what Colby would do when he saw the movement, so, he surprised me by sticking his snout into the puddle. Air bubbles exploded around his snout as he dipped in and pulled out, carrying the salamander in his mouth! He set it in the grass right by the driveway and appeared still interested. I didn't want him to kill the critter, so, we pulled away at that point, leaving the little newt dazed and walking unsteady from his ride in a dog's mouth.

3 p.m. walk - Walking down the driveway, we were going speedily along when all of a sudden, Colby stops and starts patting the grass as if he spied something. After a moment, I saw it too, just a little grasshopper. So, I stayed to let him play with it. But then, in the next big jump from the bug, it landed up on top of Colby's forehead! He looked down for a moment, searching, but then started to peer up, sensing that it had landed on him. But then the flying insect flitted off to the nearby tall grass.

It was a sea green color with gorgeous pink accents at the joints. We have chased flying grasshoppers before; they have black wings with white stripes and they jump/glide from place to place. This little sea green one did not have visible wings but definitely had a softer, fairy-like movement when it flew away.

 

[Joyous Song]

@Joyous Song thank you for sharing your tales as well. We have a coyote problem around here too. During the summer months, we have fans going and air conditioners in the windows, so, we don't hear much at night. But during the fall and spring months when I have the windows open but it's too cold to run the air, we can hear them at night. It is fascinating, thinking of our ancestors writing gothic stories about the spooky sounds at night. It truly IS eerie. It sounds like a bunch of laughing echoing over the hills, like the noise a hyena makes. But it is actually the excited yipping of coyote pups cajoling their mother bringing something down for them to eat.

We don't raise any animals, it's just my dog and I. But a couple years ago my neighbors had chickens and they would occasionally bemoan the loss of them in the night.

How about the raccoons? We now have to bring in our bird feeders or they will tear then down. We also had to surround our new garden with not only a fence but also rose stems. They used to wake us at night, but my husband went after them a few rimes with a stick and they've been quiet for now. Come winter they'll be back trying to gain entry into our cats mud room. So if he doesn't get home by night fall he stays out all night.

 

[Hrairoo]

How about the raccoons? We now have to bring in our bird feeders or they will tear then down. We also had to surround our new garden with not only a fence but also rose stems. They used to wake us at night, but my husband went after them a few rimes with a stick and they've been quiet for now. Come winter they'll be back trying to gain entry into our cats mud room. So if he doesn't get home by night fall he stays out all night.

I'm not sure about raccoons. I have not personally ever seen any. But, I have caught sight of several opossums and gotten hissed at by them. We also have squirrels chewing on the trash can lids, so, I don't put trash in them except on trash day anymore. We have a couple cats around here as well but they give Adventure Dog and I a wide berth.

Around 4 p.m. today, the young spiker was back for more crab apples. If he's going to be visiting so often, I figured we might as well name him. I thought Abel. I wanted something that rings "apple" without being too on the nose. Plus, I've been reading a lot more Bible recently, so, it fits the mood.

 

[Hrairoo]

Another Abel sighting this morning. Our first walk of the day, we walk out onto the driveway and there he is at the bottom of the hill. He booked it into the brush as soon as he saw us but it was still nice to see him.

I wasn't going to mention this because it's embarrassing but I guess it technically counts as an Adventure Dog story; yet another instance where, even when we're indoors, Colby brings the wildlife to us. We were sitting in the living room watching some tv when something hit the window right behind my head, startling me. I heard the heavy flapping of wings and Colby started flipping out, trying to use me as a ladder to see out the window. When I was finally able to get up and turn around to look out, I saw three female turkeys disappearing into the tall grass in the backyard. There must have been something they wanted right under the window, or possibly they saw the reflection of the glass and thought it was an open perch. Turkeys are notoriously dim-witted this time of year.

 

[Hrairoo]

Got a visit from a doe at the crab apple tree this afternoon. She was alone, so, I don't know if she's one of the three sisters. It's almost 4 p.m. so I think she was wary of the openness of the front yard. So, she didn't follow Abel's footsteps but lingered between the trees before heading back the way she came. I caught a pic of Colby standing and peering out the window, with the doe visible underneath the tree house in the background.

Spoiler: pics

The other pics are Colby cuddling his grouse toy. It just made me think of the ruffed grouse which is PA's state bird. Even here in south NY, we get those all the time. You know the sound a lawnmower makes as you jerk on the ignition chord? Like, before the engine ignites, if you pull and pull and pull. That's what a ruffed grouse sounds like out in the woods. The males, as part of their impressive mating ritual, will be out in the woods and beat their feathers with this heavy "fwump...fwump...fwump...fwump, fwump, fwump!" sound. It's like someone yanking a lawnmower ignition that fails to ever turn over. We haven't heard any yet this season.

We have heard from the coyotes, however. Very close last night, it sounded like actual howls this time.

 

[Hrairoo]

Encountered a doe in the backyard this morning just a few feet away. She decided to stare at Colby and I until I opened the screen door to let him out.

South NY is gorgeous right now. The grassy hills of the lawns are still green and there is still a lot of green on the trees. Walking the same route several times a day every day, Colby and I make note of the trees that are changing. There's one with feathered fronds that has had red on some of its branches since the beginning of this month. Now, the red is slowly taking over the other fronds while some remain green and the red is just such a bright and beautiful scarlet color.

In the tall grasses beside our route the grass is full of goldenrod, like to an overwhelming degree. And amidst these "fences" of goldenrod, there are stripes and patches of indigo and lavender wild daisies. There is a chill in the air constantly now and a very noticeable scent of Autumn, that sort of strong musk of leafy death(if you have ever smelled a reddened fallen leaf, you know that smell).

 

[Hrairoo]

Adventure Dog strikes again! It was really cold today, so, we haven't gone for any walks. But that's alright; Colby will bring the wildlife to us!

He just startled me a couple minutes ago barking at something out the window. I get up to see and there are four hen turkeys in the front yard, closer than the deer I've taken pics of. No wonder he was going crazy! The gals disappeared around the corner of the house and Colby went running and whining to the dining room window that faces the backyard. And holy moley! There were at least a dozen of these hens gathered on the mound and trench in the backyard. I opened the back door to get pics of them and Colby was down at my feet, peering out and groaning and whining in earnest.

Spoiler: turkey gals