Since early Saturday, the sun has been obscured and Christmas morning dawned with heavy mist.
Temperatures have shot back up and I did my outdoor rounds today without need of a coat.
In this part of the world, that is not normal.
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Meanwhile in China, according to reports, they are enjoying, or not, a prolonged cold spell.
Gone are the days when you could depend on certain weather at any given time of year and location.
One must adapt.
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Bushes are budding and hibernation is a bust, at least for some animals.
Scooter first appeared at the end of September, dragging its apparently crippled hindquarters with its powerful front feet.
She was managing to get around but far too thin.
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We could only guess that she had been recovering from a terrible wound and was now catching up on preparing for the months of hibernation.
Scooter was covering a lot of ground. It was easy to trace her drag marks and she popped up close to several different burrows.
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We did our best to distribute food to help her out, hoping she would build herself up.
Groundhog activity ceased after November 2nd, so then we hoped for the best for our small friend.
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A month later, Scooter suddenly re-appeared.
The weather had been unseasonably warm but no other groundhogs emerged and we suppose hunger pangs awakened her.
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Fortunately, she has remained at the burrow across from our kitchen window, so we have been placing food there.
Scooter retired again but was back out on December 19th for a snack and a long drink.
She looked healthy.
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Two days later, Scooter was scooping up dead grass. Groundhogs do this to re-line their burrows, but not in December!
The late onset of winter meant grass was still available. Grant went rushing off to gather an armful and laid it close to Scooter’s hole.
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A little while ago, I glanced outside and there was Scooter, looking for a Christmas morsel.
All around me there are animals that are adapting. Some of them survive and some do not.
We offer what we can without being too intrusive.
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When I first caught sight of Mrs Plod on 21st June 2020, she was skin and bone.
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She came upon the orange slices we had thrown on the grass when the oriole for whom they had been intended did not return.
By the beginning of July, Mrs Plod was already looking much better and she was coming daily.
She wandered some distance, all around the house.
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She was blind and we soon worked out that she was deaf as well.
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With a little help, she’d filled right out.
She loved peanuts!
One day at the end of summer I saw a raccoon attacking Mrs Plod. I rushed out and as it backed away Mrs Plod scampered off.
Grant came upon the scene and realised what I should have, that the raccoon was rabid which was very sad, but our possum friend was unhurt.
As Fall approached, we wondered how Mrs Plod would survive the winter.
If we brought her in, we could look after her. I think Grant was very tempted. I wanted to save her too, but I forced myself to imagine what it would be like, to be taken from everything she knew.
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We could have kept her in a room alone, safe from nosy cats. Cleaning up after one more animal would not have been a big deal. But it would have been unnatural to her.
A young possum would have adjusted but Mrs Plod was old. We had to leave our emotions out of the decision.
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Sometimes, doing nothing is the hardest thing but also the right thing.
The last time we saw Mrs Plod was on October 19th, before harsh weather arrived. We watched for her constantly but she was gone.
We could only hope she went in peace.
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Crippled groundhogs, deaf/blind possums, lame crows…
The first Gimpy was a brain-damaged squirrel that couldn’t run a straight line.
Wildlife everywhere is challenged.
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Animals adapt.
They have no complaints department. They just get on with it because they must.
How much we can learn from them?
Thank you, Carolyn, for the moving details of your help given to any animal in need.
It echo the saying; do to others what you would like to be done to you.
Joanna
The weather here on the West Coast of South Africa is at least normal for this time of year … lovely long sunny days! Scooter (and all the other ‘special need’ animals) are probably very happy to have you guys in ”their” backyard because it means they have enough food for when it’s needed. A fine line like you said, but if we can help without too much interference, I’m sure it’s not that big of a deal.
You did the right thing for the Possum. Living inside a house would not have been right, and would have caused it mental anguish into the bargain.
The weather is weird everywhere. We had 15C yesterday, 5C and sunny today, and heavy rain forecast for the rest of the week. I suspect Winter will arrive late this year, and we might eventually get the snow as late as March. But who knows? It must be exciting times to be a weather forecaster! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Love how you name all these wonderful visitors!
You mentioned the warmer weather. Here in Lviv, it’s unusually warm and as you read in my post, not a white Christmas this year. Two weeks ago we had -18C, today it was 11C – bizarre. However, in Eastern Ukraine, it’s much colder but still unseasonably warm.
Lovely photos as always, Carolyn.