Animals

Chimney Swifts Grace A Dusky Sky

/ still a dreamer

Chimney Swifts Flying Overhead

Chimney Swifts Flying Overhead

Each evening in the summer, before the crickets and frogs begin their serenades, there is a loud chittering outside, a beckoning to come see the sky. The light fades and in increasing numbers, small birds dart about in the approaching dusk. Their rapid wing movement nearly mimics that of a bat, but as I watch, I note their too-slender bodies and elegant lines. They circle overhead, first in sight everywhere, then seeming to disappear. They return to recklessly swoop in random patterns, now close, now hundreds of feet overhead, criss-crossing the sky in repetitions.

They are Chimney Swifts, small birds that live inside uncapped chimneys and open vertical structures. Practically swarming the sky, they bring Alfred Hitchcock to mind. I’ve learned a family of five Chimney Swifts eats 12,000 small insects per evening, mosquitos, gnats, no-see-ums, all the ones that quietly bite and torment. The suspense is clearly for small flying creatures, not me. The birds also migrate 6,000 miles every year, in pursuit of their meals.

I’d never seen Chimney Swifts until I lived in this part of the state, and never so many `til I moved to this location, just a few houses from the Delaware River. The dining by the river must be nothing short of gourmet for the Chimney Swifts.

Swifts Eating on the Fly

Swifts Eating on the Fly

I stand on my back porch, lean on the railing. The sky deepens and I watch in amazement, perhaps for 20 minutes. I am mesmerized by these flickering shadows on a blue-grey canvas. I am happy to be a part of their evening repast, if only as a bystander.

Photographing them with a digital flash cannot do them justice, but do click on the photos to get an idea of what I see. For more information on Chimney Swifts, check out their own web site, chimneyswifts.org or the HSUS Chimney Swift info page.

Catching A Catnap

/ still a dreamer / 1 Comment

It occurred to me the other day that the small fry in my life were getting far too little face time. In fact, they were getting none, and deserved a little respect. So what better time to catch them than just at the time when I settle down to work and they, with nice full tummies, settle down to catch that most cat-like of all endeavors, the catnap.

It was easy to catch Mewsette. Once she settles down for a snooze, she’s out like a light!

But then surprisingly, everyone else decided something interesting must be happening, so let’s pose! And Gypsy Rose started her on-the-back rolls and twirls which has earned her the nickname of Twirly-Girl.

Not to be left out, Claude, a.k.a. Claudie the Dog Boy, decided to sit up and get his mug in the camera. But it didn’t take terribly long for him to give it up and find his catnap spot on their favorite brown paper bag. He couldn’t keep his eyes open and was soon out like a light, too.

Ahhhh – but I did say face time, didn’t I?  OK, Mewsette, a beautiful tabby and white girl with kiwi green eyes, is the delicate soul of the bunch and so bonded to me that my moods become her moods. She is terribly devoted to me. I rescued her from Weequahic Park in Newark when she was about 9 months old. As cats go, she is the old soul, always wiser and more in tune, but sometimes in need of protection from the other two.

Gypsy Rose was another rescue from that park who’d been living in the adjacent cemetery; I snatched her while riding through one morning to work. She was 6 months old at the time. What’s so unusual about Gypsy is her tortoiseshell markings – she has touches on her face, chest and paw, stray hairs through her body, but all her bright, flashy colors are on her tummy! Gypsy is the top cat and the most independent.

I rescued Claude at the age of 5 weeks from a railroad bridge where he was waiting, no doubt, to be hit by a car or go over the edge and a 100′ drop. I hadn’t wanted a kitten, (because I would take an older cat, a pair that couldn’t be separated, a handicap, etc.), but felt he was meant to be mine. When I saw him run under the chin of my 12 year old pit bull terrier, Chloe, I knew it was true. Chloe raised him pretty much with her energy. He does all kinds of tricks no self-respecting cat would ever do, ergo the name, Claudie the Dog Boy, and is a bit on the goofy side.

Through all the paper bag and Twirly-Girl shots, Mewsette had only one thing in mind … her catnap. And a minor change in position.

Bat Visit

/ still a dreamer

Last night, I had a most unexpected visitor. While watching TV upstairs, curled up with Claude and Mewsette, the two cats suddenly sat up and stared wide-eyed at the nearest window. Within seconds I knew why. Something had entered the room. While it first seemed like a medium sized bird, I knew better, and realized I now had a Big Brown Bat flying around the room.

Doing my best not to panic and trying to figure out how to help him with none of us getting hurt, I efficiently herded the cats out of the room and closed the door, turned off the ceiling fan, and opened another window and screen, thus allowing a pretty good exit space. I left the room. Called my wildlife rehabilitator friend for any more tips, accordingly blocked the bottom of the door with a blanket. I wasn’t prepared to risk the possible bite of this little guy who might soon be panicking himself and run into me by mistake. 

I called the State Police hoping for emergency animal control assistance, but instead 2 Troopers came, one experienced in handling bats with no injury to the bat – just what I wanted. Happily, my bat-escape-plan seemed to work and he had exited. So did the two nice Troopers. I was just jangled. Figured out how the bat had gotten in and adjusted that. Had a fitful night’s sleep.

I woke up in the morning, still jangled, then realized – I knew why the bat had flown into my life! I got my book by Ted Andrews, Animal Speak, and looked up Bat as a totem animal. Again. This is the third home where I have had unusual experiences with bats. And for good reason – they are strong indicators of transition and initiation in one’s life, and that sums up mine, as I struggle to give up old, useless, fearful patterns in moving forward to my dreams.

The bat reflects “the breaking down of the former self through intense tests. It is a facing of your greatest fears – that it is time to die to some aspect of your life that is no longer suitable for you ….If a bat has flown into your life, then it is the time to face your fears and prepare for change. You are being challenged to let go of the old and create the new.

“Changes and transformations are blessings. They are not triggered from without but from within; and the world is our mirror …this means opening to the power within which will override all our fears.”

This unexpected visitor was alone; there are no other bats living outside near or around that window, I checked, and on a logical level, there is no reason why a bat would’ve come inside the house at 9 p.m. But I have found that different animal species may appear to us, seemingly out of context, as indicators of circumstances in our lives.

As one who has always had a strong connection with animals, I believe if we are open to them and what they have to share, we can learn amazing lessons. What had been an unsettling experience, not only ended well for all, but put a big smile on my face.

A bat quite literally flew into my life and reminded me that I could give up the old junk that holds me back, and open further to my own power and my dreams. Change is good.

Afraid of Bugs and a Hanging Thief

/ still a dreamer

How I became afraid of bugs started when I was a child. Where else? I can only attribute this fear to a mother who was terrified of the tiniest spider on the ceiling which my Dad had to remove immediately. A little girl, being identified with her mother and all – well, clear enough where that came from. Bugs were made out to be evil itself.

But wait. My father was exactly the opposite. He carefully scooped up any intruders in his handkerchief and ushered them out the back door, free to fly or crawl away. I recall once in the summer in the backyard, I was becoming upset over a gnat in my lemonade. I know – a gnat, right? Clear as day, I remember my father saying, “Look! He’s hardly drinking anything at all!” That brought a faint smile through my tears. He sure wasn’t afraid of bugs.

Alas, my Mom’s fearful cries were louder than my father’s calm voice of reason, but in the end … Dad’s reason prevailed. Today, I know bugs are cool.

Robber Fly - Hanging Thief

Robber Fly - Hanging Thief

While I do prefer that I spot them first rather than them land on me unexpectedly lest I have a throwback experience, I realize that insects are quite fascinating. This morning I sat out on the back porch to journal. There I have a bunch of potted impatiens, polka dot plants and black coleus. Sitting with my coffee and about to write, I noticed an unusual character sitting in the impatiens. Got the digital, took some close-ups and decided to find out what it was at the end of my work day.

Fast forward to 6 p.m. and I’m on a really cool site that I just love, now that I’m not so afraid of bugs – What’s That Bug? I figured with those huge eyes, he had to be some kind of fly though he didn’t look like one. Sure enough – there he was – a Robber Fly, and of the type called the Hanging Thief. So now I know about Robber Flies, how they’re beneficial, and why I shouldn’t push my luck and aggravate one, not that I would anyway. (They have a painful bite when pushed to their limit.) Pretty cool!

OK – it’s not my plan for this to be a bug site. Really. They just seem to keep showing up when I’m sitting still. And as bugs are creepy to so many people, I guess it’s not so bad to give them a little good press. Who knows? Maybe I can help you be a little less afraid of bugs.

Who Weaves Half A Spider Web?

/ still a dreamer

 

The Amazing Half-Woven Web

Amazing Half-Woven Spider Web

It must be a pretty talented spider, indeed, who can weave only half a web, or even weave a full one in such a manner, that overnight, precisely one half of it vanishes. Click on the photo to enlarge it – it really is only half a spider web!

 

Or is it? I had to run and get the camera to catch this lovely trompe-l’oeil. As I went out early to sit on the back porch and journal while it was still cool, I looked up and noticed this “half-web.” I couldn’t see its creator, but based on the size of her web, I’d say she’s a pretty big girl as well as an orb-weaving spider. I was fascinated by how the morning sunlight captured the spider web, and how part of the porch roof shadowed the other half, giving the half-web effect.

I am reminded of how many small wonders are always there for us to find, but may only be noticed when we’re not rushing about at 100 mph. Okay – guilty. Some of the time, anyway. So I thank the spider for reminding me to slow down, to look up, look around and see the many small gifts that surround me.  Ahhhhh – that feels better!