Phobias

[inuvik]

hoosier said:

We all know of GB's mustache and slug phobias and while I wouldn't quite classify this as a phobia, I defintely do not like to handle birds in any way but I had an encounter that was up close and personal the other day.

Birds are fine when they are out flying around. That doesn't bother me in the least. I even put out feeders and feed them all winter. I had kept a couple of the feeders out because the weather has been cool and they were still coming around. I had put some flowers in a big pot near the feeders and was watering them, bending over with one hand on my hip, when, all of a sudden, something plowed into my arm and then I heard rustling leaves in the nearby tree. Some bird must have thought I was a statue or the landing strip in the north forty! It must have been a good size bird from the pop it gave me--a blue jay, which we have several of, or a starling etc. No little sparrow or goldfinch! I never got a look at it. I gave a yelp and the dog ran over, looking around with a 'what! what!' look on her face. Nice to know she will actually come to the rescue if needed! I checked my shirt to be sure the bird hadn't left any unwanted souvenir , what with it being surprised and all, and luckily it hadn't. That was the first time that had ever happened and hopefully it won't again--or at least not this year--but we both survived to tell the tale!

Guess you are not a fan of Hitchcock's "The Birds". Also, I have been pooped on--in my hair--no fun at all!

[Deleted]

Crows, spiders, creepy-crawly things, heights, jelly-fish and planes.

[rducasey]

greenbeing said:

The slugs are back, the slugs are back! Run for your lives! Man the lifeboats! Raise the mainsail! Eeeeeeekkk!!!

As I said: Run for your lives! And do no go barefoot into that good night.

--GB

Oboy GB and more of her famous slug stories. And don't forget to wear headphones so you won't hear the sound of the "crunch" as you run into that good night.

[hoosier]

Can't say I have had a slug infestation as of today, just those little itty bitty kinda cute slugs that look like a snail who has forgotten to dress before leaving the house! My problem is Japanese beetles! We have rose of sharon bushes which they just love. The blossoms end up looking like crepe paper. And nothing will kill them. We have tried drowning them in water, drowning them in gasoline. They shrug off bug spray and bug dust and even the birds avoid them! Bugs from hell, indeed! At least they are only here until August--the garden expert says anyway.

[greenbeing]

hoosier said:

Can't say I have had a slug infestation as of today, just those little itty bitty kinda cute slugs that look like a snail who has forgotten to dress before leaving the house!

Oh, Hoosier, you are a better person than I! Cute??? You're more than welcome to my baby slugs, so many of whom hatched during the rain the past two days that I feel like I'm participating in Gremlins 2: The New Batch. I had to use a flashlight to get out of my car last night, because the tiny little buggers were all over the driveway. Climbing the stairs, crawling on each other, looped from one plant to the next... Shudder.

--GB

[hoosier]

GB, I totally sympathize with your slug situation. The other day, I ran into some tomato worms. Well, not literally run into them! I noticed that some of the leaves were gone and bare branches shaking in the breeze. Upon investigation, there were the worms happily muching away The largest were the size of my index finger, the smallest the size of my pinkie. Had to pry them off and dispose of them. They went to a not to happy place--the fire. Then had to dust the afftected plants. The other day, I put my hand on one, again the size of my index finger He was also disposed of. This means war! Nobody touches my tomato plants, nobody!!!!! Especially since I have only had one ripe one so far--tons of green one, huge green ones. Waiting is so hard to do.

[carl1951]

This isn't a phobia, but it concerns a "pest" war.
We have a huge pear tree in our back yard. Every year it produces wonderful, sweet pears. Problem: Squirrels. They climb higher than we do and it's the squirrels who enjoy the fruit.
Never thought of declaring war. I consider it a sport we are losing. Our yard is littered with half eaten fruit.
Squirrels 100 vs. Us (maybe) 1.

Just a side. One of the cats I adopted was in that tree every night calling me out to feed her. One day I asked to come and stay. She did. Her name is Luna-Baby, a very close pal to Cahli and Marlo (not Thomas).

Later, Carl

[Dreamfire]

I wish we had squirrels in Australia. I think they are very pretty. We have possums.

[bjobsessed]

We have possums too. I didn't know you didn't have squirrels. At the risk of sounding really dumb, why not?

[hoosier]

ashatan said:

I wish we had squirrels in Australia. I think they are very pretty. We have possums.

We also have possums but your's look cuddly. The ones here look like huge white rats with pointy teeth and they hiss at you or roll over and play bite the big one. I have had close up and personal encounters with them--one was in our front yard!!!!!

[anna]

Nearly all of the possums that I see aren't just playing dead; they are dead, as in roadkill. Hence, the old joke:

Why did the chicken cross the road?

To prove to the possums that you can get to the other side.

[Dreamfire]

karma to you Anna for that joke. ;D

We have possums in our back yard. We nhad a drought on and many possums were being lost due to not enough food. SO I started putting out a bowl of fruit and things for them on the balcony at night and watch them come to eat. It was especially wonderful watching the mums and the little ones. The mums would pick out a luscious peice of fruit and hand it to the baby and they would hold it in in two hands and eat. The Mums woud sit with an piece in one hand and the other on the baby's head or back or something.

They got very tame and let us feed them by hand after a while.
More possums started to visit. I started to make two bowls and keep one inside 'til late in the night and pop it out for the second bunch.

One night as I was sleeping, door wide open to the balcony, I had forgotten the second bowl I guess. I woke to find a little hand patting my shoulder. I turned over and a Mum and baby possum were sitting on the floor next to my bed. The baby was actually in my slipper, Mum was reaching up and gently waking me so I could go get the fruit.

Hmm, time to rethink this. They got their fruit that night but we weaned them off and now they visit occasionally for snacks.

Natascha

[greenbeing]

ashatan said:

I woke to find a little hand patting my shoulder. I turned over and a Mum and baby possum were sitting on the floor next to my bed. The baby was actually in my slipper, Mum was reaching up and gently waking me so I could go get the fruit.

If I awoke to find one of these guys patting my shoulder, I don't think I'd react quite as calmly as you did!





Karma for remaining clear-headed at all times, although it probably helps that your possums are quite cuddly-looking...

--GB

[Dreamfire]

Your possums look pissed off!

Our possums are pretty cute and non agressive.

I don't like them hanging around my dogs and cats because my pet would probably be too curious and maybe pick a fight and theyhave claws like a bear ( for climbing). My pet would win , no doubt, but the scratches can get infected and I woud not want our local pssums hurt.

The little one's (ringtails) are sooooo cute. About 8 - 12 inches long and sweet like children's stories.

We don't have rabies in Australia either so ours all have their heads still.


This is not shot at my place ( no idea who the guy is, but could have been. This is just like my balcony and one of our visitors. (The furry one)

And this is what the ring tailed ones look like.

[greenbeing]

Oh, Ashatan, your possums are darling!

This is why our opossums are so pissed off...



A momma has up to 20 babies, but only the first 13 will get fed once they're in the pouch, and the others die of starvation. The other 13, this looks like a painful dogpile for mom. And to do this every year? I think our opossums are very bitter creatures. The last seven who died slowly starving are probably reincarnated over and over as opossums and they're just not happy campers.

And sadly, our opossums are known to often carry rabies, and fleas.

--GB