New Pets

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Well, maybe not pets, but new critters hanging around on a regular basis.

We have a pair of Mallard ducks hanging around in our backyard. We first saw them a couple weeks ago, and they're back on a regular basis now. Terry came home the other day and found them asleep under a pine tree we have right out the back door. They really spook easy, so he couldn't get a picture of them there, but I do have one of them by the bird feeder.

Last night I was pruning the roses, minding my own business, when I turned around, there they were! About 10' from me, just waddling off to wherever it is they spend the night. When I stood up, they stopped, looked at me, sat down and rested for a bit, then went on their merry way. It's hard to say if they have a nest nearby, I would almost think so since they're around all the time, but I haven't seen any young ones around, and they always waddle off towards the "Nasty neighbor cat's" place so if there's a nets of ducklings there, they won't last too long. I'm really hoping the nest is nowhere near, but hopefully we'll see little ones waddling along one of these days.

The other new "pets" are a pair of bunnies who have been hanging around lately too. We've never had so much action in the backyard, so this is all kind of exciting, and fun to watch! The bunnies haven't been around as much as the ducks though. Hope we see little bunnies one of these days too.....as long as the "nasty neighbor cat" stays away. You guys all know I love animals, and especially cats, but that is one cat I could really do without.

Here's a picture of one of the bunnies.


And here's one of the ducks. They brought a friend along for this picture.

[Sam's My Baby]

OOOOOh that is so cool! I also had a pair of mallard ducks in my backyard once, when it was flooded with water. But soon it evaporated and they left. That bunny looks really pretty, it looks like an angora!

[wolflady]

How sweet T&P's mom!! Is that a picture of part of your backyard?? It looks nice! Isn't it funny how certain wildlife can take up residence??
My mom and dad have a unique...resident that visits on a daily basis. Nobody knows where he came from, but he's absolutely gorgeous and makes all his 'rounds' to everyone in the neighborhood. It's a peacock!! He just showed up one day about 2 years ago, and has been there ever since! My mom has looked up peacocks on the internet to see what they like to eat, since we don't know anything about them. It's funny, she went out and bought a bunch of food for him, so when he visits, he gets fed!
The feathers are like a work of art. We have such a nice collection of them, from all of the shedding he does once a year! When I look at that guy, I can't help but be in awe of God's beautiful creation!
There are also tons and tons of deer where my parents live. They are so cute, but they eat EVERYTHING!! There is also a flock of wild turkeys in the neighborhood too. Very interesting como of animals!! I love it!

[Heather Wallace]

I can't believe you have such good wild life in your garden, i am so jealous of you. I have 4 rabbits that hang around in my garden but the reason for that is I put them there, LOL! There my own!

Nice pic by the way! Looks a bit like Twinkle my rabbit.

[Ann]

Cuuuute!!

[Daisylover]

OOOhhhh.....Poor bunnies!!! Is your parent's place out in the country or in the 'burbs? I'm betting someone turned them loose to fend for themselves. Chances are very good they won't survive long...either a car or a predator will get them. If they were a pet, they certainly won't be used to taking care of themselves. How sad!!!

[sammi]

Daisylover, I think the Bunnies in Tuby's yard are wild buns.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by wolflady
How sweet T&P's mom!! Is that a picture of part of your backyard?? It looks nice!

Yes, that is out one of the back doors. We've got a fireplace with glass doors on either side of it, and another glass door that opens to the patio from the dinette area, so we get a great view of the backyard and all the activity. Mr. (or Mrs.?) Bunny stopped by again last night for a little dinner.

That Peacock sounds awesome!!! Sounds like they live in a more rural area and get lots of wildlife. That's the only thing we don't like about the wildlife is that we are not in a rural area. If you can see the fence in the background behind the bunny, right on the otherside of that is an industrial park, and right on the other side of that is an Interstate Highway! Not to nice for wild animals. One day we actually saw a coyote running along the fence. It was really cool, but we were sad about it because what's he doing in a place like this? And how's he going to get someplace safe with an Interstate and a main 4 lane street between him and safety. The bunny and the ducks I'm not too worried about. The ducks can fly and the bunny isn't going too far, especially if we keep corn out for him.

Oh, and Daisylover, yes the bunnies are wild so I'm sure they can fend for themselves.

[Daisylover]

Well, you all can certainly tell I'm in the bunny rescue/sanctuary business! So I'm hoping you are right about them being wild...can you approach them at all?

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by Daisylover
Well, you all can certainly tell I'm in the bunny rescue/sanctuary business! So I'm hoping you are right about them being wild...can you approach them at all?

No, as soon as we even start opening the back sliding door they bolt. Both the bunnies and the ducks have such good hearing that if we're inside with all doors and windows closed, and I call to Terry to tell him to come look, they hear that and instantly look my way, perk up their ears and get ready to run. I swear they can hear us walking up to the back door and are instantly on the alert. That's why I was so surprised when the ducks walked right by the other day when I was cutting the roses. I wish we could get close to the bunnies, but no luck, and I guess that's ok otherwise they might start trusting all people and end up trusting the wrong people.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

It was an active day today. Had the bunny, a chipmunk, a squirrel, a Blue Jay, Mr & Mrs Cardinal and Mr. Mallard here today.

Here's a picture of the bunny, chipmunk and squirrel all eating together at the same time. It was kind of hard to see on my computer so I put the names right above the critters so you could pick them out. All this action and where's Tubby? Sleeping on the couch.


We normally don't have this much activity in one day, so it was kind of fun.