I Like Pigeons Because Nobody Else Does

This isn’t something you see every day:

a northern short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda. I was out walking the dogs and found it lying by the side of the road on School Lane. No doubt, another victim of death-by-housecat as evidenced by the puncture wound on its side.

Shrews are not uncommon and can be found in most areas of North America, but due to their fossorial (adapted to digging and life underground) lifestyle, are rarely seen. They have an astoundingly high metabolism and it’s been estimated that they need to consume three times their body weight in food daily.

This is only the third shrew I’ve seen in the east in my life. The last one I saw happened to be under my car in a parking lot in Landisville. They have eyes (and ears) that are almost vestigal and it was bouncing around fruitlessly trying to find its way back to soil. I managed to extract it with a broom handle and the animal lived up to its fearsome reputation by hissing and making a bizarre snarling sound as it lifted itself up by its tiny front feet in an attempt to scare me off. Don’t ever pick up a live shrew because you will surely be bitten. They are one of only two toxic mammals on Earth (the other being the platypus). Shrews have venom glands in their mouths that secrete a toxin into their victims when bitten. It’s non-lethal to humans, but I’ve read that it can leave a painful wound for several days.

I am positively ashamed to say that before two weeks ago I had never been to Longwood Gardens in Kennet Square. Me, nature-lover extraordinaire, never visited.  My sister came up with the most excellent idea to take our guests there for the day and it was fabulous. We were there just at the time the fruit trees were blooming and the weather was perfect.

We did a few more things later on during the week, but I’ll post photos of them in the near future. I had a fairly exciting two days at work today and last friday. Plover chicks are hatching and we’re banding them as best we can. Since they leave the nest within just hours of hatching, you’re dependent on a lot of luck and a little bit of perseverance. For instance, just this morning we checked on a nest and saw the tip of a tiny bill poking through a small hole in the center of a network of spider-web cracks on the egg. We returned just two hours later and the chick was out of the egg and hiding under a plant adjacent to the nest. Any later and we may have missed the bird completely. These birds are born precocial, meaning they are ready to go at birth as opposed to altricial birds which need parental care.  They are probably the cutest baby birds I’ve seen (these are from last week):

Notice their coloration. They’re almost indistinguishable from the surrounding sand. Here are some shots from today. The new chick is still wet.

Other news, Sinbad and I have started taking obedience classes at the San Diego Humane Society. Tonight is our second night of class and he’s doing very well…of course, every time I say or write that to someone he does something like pull the blankets out of his crate and pee on them or climb up on the ottoman, proclaim himself king by showing his teeth, and then refusing to move.  But lately he’s taken on more of a submissive role in response to Gene and I which has been a nice change.

My mom has a friend named Jane. Her parents own an abandoned farm in southern York County and my mom thought this might be a good outing for our guests. I just like digging around old places looking at junk. Jane gave us a tour of rural York and an hour or so of poking around the farm which was a photographer’s dream. I really regret not taking a better camera lens but I guess I can always go back. By that time the place should be in an advanced state of disrepair which might make the photos even better.

Kazu is really into trains and engines, so after the farm visit we went to Strasburg Railroad. I didn’t have high hopes for it because it always seemed to me that it was one of those touristy spots that locals never visit.  I was pleasantly surprised to find it very interesting. They have a very well done museum and an operating steam locomotive that pulls a dining car through the surrounding farmland so visitors can eat and tour at the same time. I could never understand why anyone would want to do that but on this particular trip I found myself wishing we’d have made reservations. Just one more of those things you don’t get until you leave and return.

We made it back on Saturday evening, after having made the 2800 mile trip from Pennsylvania to California. We had a fantastic trip and I’d do it again in a minute. I’ll fill you in on the details later, but here are some photos from late summer in rural Pennsylvania.