Animal magnetism
Looking for furry, feathered and scaly Americans.
Iwanted to see a bald eagle. I had my camera lens cleaned and battery charged as we exited the cruise ship in Ketchikan, Alaska. Before long, I spotted the impressive raptor on top of a totem pole. Tourists snapped pictures as the bird struck steely eyed poses like a rock concert. Before long, however, we realized that bald eagles are more common than crows.
I suppose every area of the U.S. has its unique fauna. American alligators are a dime a dozen in parts of Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. Black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains quickly become passe.
Mule deer became a terrible pest in Colorado. We tried all the old-wivestale remedies and found only one (strong scented soap hung on the liplevel branches) worked. At Christmastime when people bring out their fake, twinkle lit lawn deer, it’s about the same to me as putting Christmas lights on a cockroach or other pest.
When we were moving from Colorado to Oklahoma, our Realtor sent me a picture of some deer grazing in our soon-to-be backyard. She wrote, “I hope you have many more of these peaceful scenes in your new home.” I wondered if we could back out of the contract to buy the house!
Our neighbors complain of rabbits eating their garden and squirrels chewing their patio furniture.
I saw my first live armadillo at Lake Fausse Pointe State park in Louisiana. My kids were so excited that they chased the critter into the underbrush. It was lightening fast, but that might have had something to do with the six boys chasing it.
A few years later, we suspected an armadillo was digging holes all over our back lawn. We set a critter trap and caught a fat, sassy armadillo. We knew that they can carry leprosy and were not keen to touch it. But how to dispose of it? I wanted to shoot it, but Jeff said that wasn’t sporting. Since when am I a sportsman? He carried it into the woods and let it go. We had new holes the next day.
That same critter trap also captured a hissing, snarling raccoon, an irritable possum and two skunks. Skunks have a very effective way of teaching humans to stop setting critter traps. They have no respect for property rights or even sincere apologies.
It’s hard not to be impressed when a heron or pelican spreads its wings to lift off from a leisurely lake shore.
We used to have a red fox that denned on our neighbor’s lot in Colorado. Every spring, she’d be sitting proudly on her front stoop, with darling little fur balls playing around her. We always knew, however, when we had new neighbors when the posters went up on area light poles advertising a missing cat.
One morning, a great horned owl rousted us by hooting on our roof ridge.
We were enthralled when we met our first American Bison in Yellowstone but not so much when they stampeded around our car in South Dakota.
The process of getting a green garden snake out of our window well recently was as entertaining as a circus clown act.
Once when our son Chris peeked into a bird nest atop a downspout to check for eggs, he found a live massasauga rattle snake.
I encounter cottontail rabbits and a feral cat my grandkids have named Sniff on my daily walk. Jackrabbits, coyotes and hawks haunt the field behind our back fence.
The quail we encountered on a recent hike looked all ready to go to the opera with their feathery headdresses.
Biologists estimate that 432 species of mammals, including sea mammals are indigenous to the U.S. Birders delight in more than 800 varieties of birds, Entomologists revel in over 100,000 known insect species. 295 sorts of amphibians, 311 types of reptiles and 1154 types of fish round out our American family.
Only in America. God bless it!
“Beth Stephenson’s Americana volume 1” is available for 99 cents on Kindle through Aug. 24.