Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2008

Some here enjoy periodically talking about animals
around and in our homes. I know Jitze and Skitt
will enjoy this with their being photo buffs.

Year, year and a half back, I shared photos and stories
of momma raccoon and her six babies. She has moved on
but one of her babies is now momma raccoon and she
has at least one baby, just about grown.

Eighteen months or so, three generations of raccoons.

An advantage of being raised on a rural Oklahoma farm,
in an area best described as a jungle surrounded by
pine forests, an advantage is learning how to spot
animals before danger comes about. This is spotting
a ten foot rattlesnake enjoying warm sunshine while
blending in perfectly with surrounding dirt and
plants. Maybe a cotton mouth lying in water near
water line, just his eyes and nose showing. Out
in pine forests, very thick and dark pine forests,
we needed to watch for panthers lying on low branches
waiting to drop down on you.

Of course, there is also Flora Homma, the ugliest,
the meanest and the most murderous Choctaw woman around
McCurtain county. She sometimes sits up in a pine tree
while drinking white lightning and eating a kid, more
often, sitting up there just picking her teeth with her
long buck knife, child bones scattered around on the
ground below her pine perch. She killed three men I know
of, no telling how many kids she ate.

Never know what might drop down from a tree to eat you.

We enjoy a lot of land. Our land has become a pine forest
and almost a jungle. This jungle part is challenging here
in Southern California; so damn hot and dry. Nonetheless,
we are working at creating an animal sanctuary.

I like walking around, in the nude, on our land, like
checking on everything, admiring our trees, flowers
and timber bamboo. Lots of animals around, day and night.
Reminds me of my childhood.

Today, having this advantage of an ingrained fear of
having a panther or Flora drop down from a tree, I spot
something not quite right about one of our pine trees.
With caution, I walk about, looking up, watching for
movement, any telltale sign of a dangerous animal.

Sure enough, I spot a tail I quickly recognize.

I shot some photos to entertain you folks. You will
delight, as I did, in my discovery.

This is a shot of my photo circumstances. This ladder
you see is fifteen feet tall. I added a small red arrow
to point out a danger sign. Hard to see, yes? Almost all
city slickers would never recognize something is out of
sorts about this pine tree, which is mixed with Old Hami
bamboo or common, Timber Bamboo.

Can you spot those eyes way up there in this pine tree?

http://www.purlgurl.net/aue/pine_coon_02.jpg

Here is a telephoto shot of one our house guests
sleeping quite comfortably up there in a pine tree.
I am sure you readers already know who you will see.

Top of this tree was sheared off years back by a
fierce wind storm. An intense circle of branches
grew out, then eventually, a new main trunk. This
makes a perfect sleeping place for an animal prone
to climbing up in trees.

http://www.purlgurl.net/aue/pine_coon_01.jpg

For Jitze and Skitt, I used my Canon digital with
the "big" lens. Camera was set on "program" and
the lens set for manual focus and 1 for IS setting.

For readers, IS is Image Stabilizer. This is a
modern technology which is simply amazing. IS
prevents "camera shake" from blurring photos.
Hard to be still up there on a tall ladder while
exposed to a brisk breeze, especially with a very
heavy and a very big lens.

Rather fun standing up there on our step ladder
sweet talking and taking a hundred so photos.
Only four or five photos turned out good because
the wind was blowing, moving bamboo in and out of
my frame.

Never could do this with an old fashion film camera.

Oh yeah, exposure. Any of you folks ever spy a naked
Indian squaw standing atop a tall ladder? With my being
so excited, never dawned on me to check if hill top
neighbors with telescopes might swing their telescopes
around to snoop on me. This is common, our girl and I
are well known around our hills for putting on a damn
good show, and not a G rated show.

Naked woman on a tall ladder, nah, not a danger signal,
unless you are one of those boys who wears a white lab
coat and carries a butterfly net.