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ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Mon Jun 06, 05 10:52 am Post subject:
oops pardon my ignorance, i mistakenly thought that entire range of mountains that run from new york down the east coast was the adirondack range... told you i wasn't that interested in that area appearantly you're more likely to be going into the smokey mountain range or the blue ridge mountains (both gorgeous, i've got photo's of my dad there!)...

Lloyd

Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

Posted: Mon Jun 06, 05 11:44 am Post subject:
I explored the Trail of the Lonesome Pine two years ago..It really is the most stunning range imaginable. Can't wait to head back that way, but this time hunting!....Remember the amazing smell of squished skunks on the Freeway?

Lozzie

Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 2595

Posted: Mon Jun 06, 05 12:35 pm Post subject:
Makes me think of Laurel and Hardy

ButteryHOLsomeness

Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 770

Posted: Mon Jun 06, 05 3:23 pm Post subject:

Madman wrote:

I explored the Trail of the Lonesome Pine two years ago..It really is the most stunning range imaginable. Can't wait to head back that way, but this time hunting!....Remember the amazing smell of squished skunks on the Freeway?

heaven help me yes i do

my cousin once got sprayed right in the face by a baby skunk he was trying to return to its mother... now THAT was nasty, think it scarred him for life (and he was billy no mates for a while after that too

)

moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Mon Jun 06, 05 3:55 pm Post subject:
See loads and loads of adders on Dartmoor when i am working down there. They are about any time from mid-April onwards if you look on south facing rock outcrops. Used to see them all the time when I was a kid in my parents garden in bristol as well but not seen any there for a few years.

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Jun 10, 05 6:43 pm Post subject:
An adder recently bit a dog, in the sand dunes here and after much vet care it died two weeks later.

culpepper

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 638
Location: Kent

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 5:36 pm Post subject:
We have loads of Slow worms in our garden.They like to hide under things.My cat along with the rest of the cat population(there are lots where we live) sit at the known haunts and wait for them to show,then pounce on them I think they have beautiful eyes and I love the way they taste the air with their tongues. We also have a few toads. I've never seen an Adder or even a grass snake

moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 5:43 pm Post subject:

culpepper wrote:

We have loads of Slow worms in our garden.They like to hide under things.My cat along with the rest of the cat population(there are lots where we live) sit at the known haunts and wait for them to show,then pounce on them

My smallest cat, Polly, always catches slow worms by their middles, and then drags them home, looking for all the world like she has got a long chinese style moustache! Its very funny to see her tripping over them as she walks. I'll have to try and get a photo.

culpepper

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 638
Location: Kent

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 7:04 pm Post subject:
wow ! do you think she has worked out that they cant break off their tails if she grabs them like that? Our puss has rendered a few tail-less ,I don't think he has the knack

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 8:49 pm Post subject:

Ahem, this is a conservation thread.

If we're not careful I'll get on my high horse and start saying how damaging cats are to our wildlife after the biggest murders - humans.

With slow worms you're advised to leave long grass growing near the bottoms of hedges and plants to give them somewhere to hide. If the cat does catch a slow worm then rescue it ASAP please and return it to somewhere safe or we'll be moaning of the demise of another one of our native animals.

Lloyd

Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 8:53 pm Post subject:
Are slow worms an endangered species?

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 9:12 pm Post subject:

Whenever I've tried to find out how many slow worms their are no one seems to know (No one has studied them that well). I think they are quite common at the moment but it's generally good conservation to not wait until something is endangered before doing something about it. With all the extra house building in some of their commonest sites who knows what will happen to them in the next 10-50 years.

Lloyd

Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 2699

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 9:15 pm Post subject:
Okay, ..I'll start watching out for them.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 9:22 pm Post subject:

Madman wrote:

Okay, ..I'll start watching out for them.

Actually in a strange way I see less of them since I've tried turning our garden into a more friendly habitat for wildlife. There's more patches of long grass, piles of decaying logs and wood, compost, wood chippings, hedging plants etc. They are about along with frogs, newts, mice, voles etc but they have far more places to hide.

Also, as a chicken keeper, it should be noted that hens are rather a killer of wild life given half a chance so I try and keep them off the conservation areas of the garden.

moogie

Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Near Bridgend

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 05 10:01 pm Post subject:
I always rescue live slow worms from the cat. Luckily Polly carries them really gently, almost like she's carrying a kitten.

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