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Archive for the ‘fauna’ Category

Sammy high-steps it: the story of a rescued Rhodesian Ridgeback

Posted in fauna, tagged , on August 11, 2008| 3 Comments »

Sammy, whose weekend name change from clichéd ‘Simba’ to the humbler diminutive of ‘Sam’ more accurately reflects Midwestern modesty, is a high-stepper. When you’re blind, I suppose, you take whatever measures are necessary. When on unfamiliar turf—which appears to have been Sammy’s lot from birth—and you can’t see it in front of you, you step high as though marching in the hope that your feet will find the terrain’s irregularity before your nose bumps into it.

This, at least, is one of Sammy’s ways of negotiating his fate. (more…)

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Simba becomes Sammy: the story of a rescued Rhodesian Ridgeback

Posted in fauna, tagged , on August 10, 2008| 2 Comments »

This is Day Two in the story of a rescued Rhodesian Ridgeback who came to us Saturday afternoon under the name ‘Simba’. Day One was too busy for words.

Nobody knows if Simba is truly the name of this emaciated, scared dog brought to us in response to several phone calls by a caring rescuer volunteer.

In fact, nobody knows anything about Simba except this one thing. Simba is blind. (more…)

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Tucker leaves us

Posted in fauna, paterfamilias, tagged , on June 22, 2008| 1 Comment »

Tucker left us this week just as he came and just as he lived with us: completely trusting our judgment, celebrating our company, gratefully accompanying us wherever we led him.

The trend line of his cancer tilted downward at a deeper angle in these last weeks. Though he seemed as happy and almost as energetic as ever, the losing battle to keep his face and our home clean from the massive tumor’s debris taxed him and us. We lit scented candles against the odor of death. It became harder and harder to cuddle him. He seemed to protect us from the affected side of his face, but his suffering was palpable and things were not going to improve. (more…)

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feeling blue: Donald W. Stokes, The Bluebird Book. The Complete Guide to Attracting Bluebirds (A Stokes Backyard Nature Book)

Posted in fauna, reseña, tagged , on June 7, 2008| Leave a Comment »

The Stokes bird books major in the sheer delight of discovering the bird in question. The 1991 Stokes Bluebird Book carries this tradition forward without missing a step.

The book’s three sections explore ‘The Birds’, ‘Attracting Bluebirds’, and ‘Bluebird Behavior’. The first section introduces this captivating bird by way of poetry and observations made about it, mostly when the species was more plentiful than it is today. The Stokes then present the ‘Eastern’, ‘Mountain’, and ‘Western Bluebird’ varieties. (more…)

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swallows!

Posted in fauna, my hometown, tagged on May 29, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Twenty years ago, one of the early-evening joys of coming home to our little house on the southeast side of San José, Costa Rica, with the coffee fields gracing the hills across the river like tightly-braided hair on a handsome head, were the swallows.

Something about that cool, clear hour of the day brought them into close-order, cartwheeling, exuberant view as they plucked insects from the air and entertained my admiring eyes.

I have always missed the swallows. (more…)

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a drawer-full of squirrels

Posted in fauna, my hometown, tagged on May 26, 2008| Leave a Comment »

My early mornings and occasional other moments in our family’s life on Indianapolis’ north side have been punctuated for about a year by noisy chewing. Apparently, this toothy romp takes place in crawl spaces and attics.

Squirrels have been the main suspects, so I’ve been consulting the half-hopeless writings of blogs and web pages where strategies against these relentless foes are mounted, critiqued, and abandoned. (more…)

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new(ish) visitors

Posted in fauna, my hometown, tagged , on May 26, 2008| 2 Comments »

This Memorial Day weekend has provided the time and energy for a major restock of my bird supplies.

The result has been some new visitors:

A Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker has made brief, resplendent visits for seed and peanuts. He’s stayed long enough for this novice birdwatcher to mark the distinction between him and his suspected alternative identity, the Redheaded Woodpecker. (more…)

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Tucker’s last Spring

Posted in fauna, my hometown, paterfamilias, tagged , on April 30, 2008| 1 Comment »

The voice of our wonderful Colombian-born veterinarian was somber when I called her from Frankfurt to inquire on the results of Tucker’s biopsy. The veterinariological technical lingo added up to just one thing: Tucker is not long for this world.

‘Just enjoy him!’, she counseled with the textured, comprehending warmth of a woman who could have been a pastor, a psychologist, a physician, or a veterinarian. She chose the latter, and not for lack of options. (more…)

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the Robins return

Posted in fauna, my hometown, tagged , on March 29, 2008| Leave a Comment »

In the lingering twilight of Springtime in Indianapolis, I notice that the Robins have returned. One young fellow told me so by crashing into the window of a basement entry, then fussing about how clumsy that must have looked and flying off. Another, a large one in dire need of a haircut, perched just now on the railing that overlooks that same entranceway. (more…)

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late November at the feeders

Posted in fauna, my hometown, tagged , on November 24, 2007| Leave a Comment »

After a season of travel, it’s beautiful to be back home where a holiday morning can be spent in my easy chair with some good books and a pair of binoculars to oversee my backyard, where my birds are enjoying the overdue filling of their feeders. (more…)

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