I will just leave this here


 
I think I mentioned this here before, but when I was a student at the Univ. of Chicago and the first frost came, I went out to my car covered with frost/ice with another student. I said to him, "What am I supposed to do about this?"

He said, "Don't you have a scraper?"

"A SCRAPER?!!!!," I said. "What would I do with a scraper? Scrape the sunshine off my car?!!!"
 
Larry,
I agree with you about non-native, highly invasive species like pythons and iguanas. Florida is allowing a shoot at will for iguanas and pythons are legally hunted. There is no way of stopping them, though. Just wait a few more years. The Everglades are about empty of mammals for the pythons to eat. They try to even eat alligators, but hunger is going to drive these monsters out of the glades and into residential neighborhoods in increasing numbers. While I previously lived in South Florida, I was far enough north and away from the Everglades that we didn't have any instances of pythons other than a locally escaped pet or two. We did have iguanas on our campground. The young guy on our maintenance department was thrilled with the order to use his pellet gun and shoot at will!

Alligators - and the rare American Crocodile - are in a different category to me. They belong there and almost all the trouble people have is from being foolish. I am not saying they pose no risk - ask the family whose boy was killed at Disney by one - but that is extremely rare. People get killed by animals in the Midwest, too. Look at all the coyotes running wild even in suburban Chicago!

I guess every place has its issues. Here's what a new friend here in Indiana sent me:

Snow in Indiana.jpeg
 
Jon Tofte said:
Larry,
I agree with you about non-native, highly invasive species like pythons and iguanas. Florida is allowing a shoot at will for iguanas and pythons are legally hunted. There is no way of stopping them, though. Just wait a few more years. The Everglades are about empty of mammals for the pythons to eat. They try to even eat alligators, but hunger is going to drive these monsters out of the glades and into residential neighborhoods in increasing numbers. While I previously lived in South Florida, I was far enough north and away from the Everglades that we didn't have any instances of pythons other than a locally escaped pet or two. We did have iguanas on our campground. The young guy on our maintenance department was thrilled with the order to use his pellet gun and shoot at will!

Alligators - and the rare American Crocodile - are in a different category to me. They belong there and almost all the trouble people have is from being foolish. I am not saying they pose no risk - ask the family whose boy was killed at Disney by one - but that is extremely rare. People get killed by animals in the Midwest, too. Look at all the coyotes running wild even in suburban Chicago!

I guess every place has its issues. Here's what a new friend here in Indiana sent me:

View attachment 21935
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Yeah but be prepared. In the midwest we have derecho which is basically a inland hurricane. And I have never seen a coyote kill anyone
 
yah, coyotes are no real threat to humans. Even in packs they are not a real threat for us. But, they do like to snack on small dogs cats, kind of like gators and pythons.
 
On the left coast we have earthquakes, which I prefer...I mean, with a hurricane or tornado you have that warning and anticipation, but with earthquakes they just come and go. Sometimes, if it's a relatively big one, you can hear it coming, a rumble off in the distance, but very little time to prepare or do anything about it.

One of the bigger 'quakes, a co-worker was driving on the freeway and immediately pulled over thinking there was something wrong with his truck. And where did he pull over? Under an overpass.
 
Bruce said:
yah, coyotes are no real threat to humans. Even in packs they are not a real threat for us. But, they do like to snack on small dogs cats, kind of like gators and pythons.
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That's pretty much true Bruce, as long as there is abundant food available. Here with our on going on 5 year drought the food sources for coyotes is diminishing faster than the coyote population is decreasing.
We had an incident this past summer where an older lady was walking her small dog in the neighborhood and four coyotes started following her so she picked up her dog. Two of the coyotes started coming up to her with the intent I'm sure of snatching the dog. A person in a car saw what was going on and drove up and started blowing the car horn. That was enough to get the two to back off and the four of them eventually wondered off. Coyotes don't have any fear of humans so who knows what could have happened if the person in the car didn't come by.
 
That is true. I hear lots of stories about them infiltrating cities and towns all along the SW and in the process losing their fear of humans to an astounding degree to where they are seen running down city streets in LA. Up here, we have plenty of them, but it is rural and they stick to the woods and maintain their native habits of being mostly nocturnal. You don't see them too often, but you can hear them at night quite a bit.
A small dog or cat is probably just as likely to get swooped up by a large hawk or Bald Eagle around here as a coyote.
 
Yeah we had a lady here in the neighborhood who let her little pocket dog out for a potty only to see a redtail hawk make off with it for a little "snack"
 
Being over here right off the Wisconsin river, I see Bald Eagles all the time. They could easily grab up one of those 6-7 lb lap dogs. I have been out fishing and watched them grab some pretty nice sized fish up as well.
 
Yah, they usually hang sitting in trees near fishermen watching. As fishermen catch fish and deep hook them and wind up killing them, they wind up floating on the surface and the Eagles have learned that fishermen mean easy meals. Over on the Mississippi, we would catch a bunch of Sheepshead (freshwater drum) and if there were eagles around, we would purposely kill them and toss them out. As they floated downstream, the eagles would swoop down and pick them up. I have had a bald eagle litterally snatch a fish off the water 15 feet from the boat. That was crazy. You don't realize their size and wingspan until you see them that close.
 
Bruce said:
Those damn Canadian Coyotes are the worst. Just like the black bears, they are probably bigger up there as well.
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I haven’t seen coyotes in my backyard but I have black bears almost every spring as they come out of hibernation and are hungry. Even had them on my deck. So far they just run off if you scare them. And they are no bigger up here. 😆
Lots of people around me hunt coyotes so they usually stay clear of the houses and farms. I do hear them at night sometimes but never see them.
 
Kyle in Woodstock said:
Don't see these Marlboro Go Anywhere grills very often, especially brand new

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Man if that was closer I would totally be on it. Everyone my grandfather knew would give him their miles, and growing up I had all kinds of Marlboro stuff in my house. My sony walkman cd player was totally a Marlboro miles edition.
 
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