A Dixie Carpetbagger

Archive for the ‘Wildlife’ Category

Just a-musing…

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Given that: a zombie transfers their zombie-ness through their bite and that most human illnesses can be transferred to animals (and vice-versa).

Question: Is it possible to infect an animal and have them become a zombie?  Like, say a squirrel?  Because zombie squirrels give me the friggin’ heebie-jeebies.

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Written by Dixie

November 16th, 2010 at 2:00 pm

Not much variety today…

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… but you’ll take what I dish out, and like it!

Between mowing, trying to finish cleaning*, cleaning the household blasters and feeding Patrol Donkey and Sentry Goose**, it’s hard to find the time to scribble.  But I do have to comment on this video.  My comment is– these people vote; maybe we should rethink that whole universal franchise thing?

* I have books everywhere.  Because I have no book-case built yet.  But to clean everything else, I need to move the books.

** The neighbor’s farm went belly-up, and he sold everything but one donkey and his geese.  Donkeys dislike being alone, so Jake promptly figured out how to get out and began wandering the area.  He makes an excellent night watchman with his partner, the sole surviving goose.  (Oddly enough, a Chinese goose, not a Cotton Patch goose, even though he does weed…  and Cotton Patch geese are rare now?)  Some people hire a security company– I use nature’s own intruder alarm.

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Written by Dixie

August 18th, 2010 at 8:00 am

Bull!

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Which is what I first said when I read this at Miguel’s:

And Catalonia bans bullfighting.

What… the… hell?  Spaniards… giving up the dance?  (shakes head)  Next you’ll tell me that the Irish have closed the Guinness factory.  One thing I want to point out from Miguel’s take, though.

Bulls back then were humongous animals with a bad attitude, specially the Miura line who probably killed more bullfighters than all other lines combined.

This is happening across the cattle world– bigger, more capable animals are being “bred down” to a level that their owners can handle.  As a personal example, back when we kept cows on the family farm, we had a Beefmaster/Black Angus mix bull we called “Little Man.”  People would see the bull, hear the name (or vice versa), and think it was a purposely ironic name.  It wasn’t– compared to his sire, Little Man was tiny.

At a mere 1,600 pounds.*  Standing on level ground, Little Man was eye level with the barbed wire on a fence.  He could also wrap his tongue around the electric fence wire and absorb the shock with no visible reaction.  His sire, however, broadsided a Chevy and put it into a pond– “no gasoline engines” means exactly that when you’re driving through a cattle pasture…

*Please note that it wasn’t my family that bred down Little Man.  We got him from the owner of his sire, “Big Man.”  (Also known as Brontosarco Rex… King Thunder-Flesh).  1,600 pounds is nothing to sniff at– his offspring tended to be 50% heavier than their mothers– but he was… small compared to his sire.

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Written by Dixie

August 16th, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Better living through Benny Hill.

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A while back, I posted a link to the Benny Hillifier.  I’m going to prove– beyond a shadow of a doubt– that Benny Hill makes anything funnier.

Start the video and wait a few seconds. Okay, now go take a look at these hunters running from a bear. I rest my case.

I’m still wondering… between Picture #4 and Picture #5, the guy had to turn around with a bear right behind him… how did he do it?

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Written by Dixie

June 23rd, 2010 at 8:00 am

Posted in Humor,Videos,Wildlife

Oh, those crazy cats…

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I’m a cat person.  I love nothing more than to sit in the shade with a good book and a cat sitting in my lap, buzzing away in contentment.  That being said, they’re crazy.  At one point in time, I had two brothers– one would play in the rain, the other wouldn’t drink water from his dish if it was deeper than 1/2″.  (Bathing him was fun…)  I also had a cat who stared down a rattlesnake one time… and for the rest of her days, she walked in constant Condition Red.  (Step, look side to side, step, look side to side, step…)

Now, for added humor factor, videos and stuff:

Via Weer’d:

Via Whitebread:

Via MacBourne: shaving your kitty.

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Written by Dixie

June 11th, 2010 at 4:00 pm

Posted in Humor,Personal,Wildlife

Rats v. Squirrels

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Everybody hates rats– they spread disease, chew things that don’t like being chewed on, and generally try to invade any space humans improve above the level of a cave.  They’re ugly, destructive, and dangerous.  On the other hand, many people like squirrels.  Even though squirrels spread disease, chew things… wait, they’re just as bad as rats.  But they’re cute and popular.

Thought exercise– two neighbors, in side by side houses, have rodent problems.  Neighbor A has a rat in his house, and Neighbor B has a squirrel in his attic.  How do they handle these problems?  Neighbor A will put out some traps to kill the rat, and Neighbor B will live-trap the squirrel and make the rodent someone else’s problem.  What would the reaction in the neighborhood be if Neighbor A live-trapped his rat and set it loose in the woods behind the school and Neighbor B used a nice trap like this for Mr. Tree Rat?

I’m guessing somewhere between “cold shoulder” and “torches and pitchforks.”

Now, why bring this up?  Because we have the same set of biases going on at a national level– we just got rid of a rat (Bush), but everyone still wants to feed the squirrel (Obama), even after he’s chewed the house’s wiring to crap.  A rodent’s a rodent, and a totalitarian is a totalitarian.

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Written by Dixie

May 28th, 2010 at 8:00 am

Rabbit Killer

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On Mother’s Day, I treated my mother to a good meal, some good conversation and an afternoon of picking blueberries* that ended with me being able to display my pistolcraft.  You see, I felled one of her mortal enemies– a cottontail rabbit– from 20 yards with a single shot.  Draw, aim, front sight, press… and the raider of the garden was dead.

Meanwhile, the Defenders of the People’s Republic of Kalifornia can’t put down a deer at 5 paces without emptying a mag:

Oh, and the animal control officers there “were not trained to use the specialized [tranquilizer] guns.”  Man, good thing we train our public servants, right?  Imagine if we let mere mortals have these tools!  [/ Sarcasm off]

I feel sad for the deer–  not a single critical hit, and it couldn’t even lay down and die in peace.

*Elliott’s and Scrub Blueberries, not the Rabbiteye type.  Rabbiteye berries are the most tasteless rip-offs I’ve ever seen.

(H/T Uncle)

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Written by Dixie

May 18th, 2010 at 10:00 am

Here, pig, PIG!

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Mmm, bacon.  Via Tam, who wants to try her hand at it.  I’m just glad that I don’t have to deal with porkers around here.  (“No wild boar around here,” said I.  “That’s good…” said the neighbor.  “Yep, the panthers, bears and bobcats take care of them,” said I.)

Pig hunting has three simple rules.  One, bring enough gun.  Two, bring enough people.  Three, keep a tree  in sight.

You don’t have to outrun the pig… just the slowest guy you’re hunting with…

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Written by Dixie

April 6th, 2010 at 2:00 pm

A paradox

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“What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?”

I don’t know, but I think we’re about to find out.  If you’ll excuse me, I have to go pop some popcorn… hold my seat, I really don’t wanna miss this fight.

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Written by Dixie

March 8th, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Food Blog

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Not only am I hungry, but I’m about to leave, and go find a restaurant to sit down in, so a post by Weer’d got me all watery-mouthed.

Seafood-

I’m not in flyover country… I live in an area with fish farms and the coast, so I can get fresh fish almost year round.  There are very few fish that I won’t eat (I’ve eaten shad before), but I do have favorites.  Catfish (oh, that’s a surprise, a Southerner liking catfish), including channel cats, bullhead, and flatheadsWarmouth and bream are good eating, and a good catch, too… a small sub-pound warmouth can put up quite a fight, and I’ve seen both fish thrive in very shallow water.

Mullet is excellent eating, but you have to hunt for them… literally.  They’re herbivores, and are the whitetail deer of the fish world– ambush is the name of the game.  One guy in the back of the boat, oars out and gently changing direction as you drift, and one guy in the bow with the net.

Red Snapper– great when you can get it, but amberjack or grouper will do in a pinch (in Florida, grouper and snapper are almost totally commercial fish, due to our wildlife service).  Flounder are great, but tilapia are the best.  I’m not really a fan of crab or oysters, so, no info here.  (chuckle)

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Written by Dixie

January 11th, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Posted in Food,Personal,Wildlife