The Art of Melanie Eberhardt

Category: Wild Critters

The wild animals who live in the woods and fields around Aunt Mel’s farm

  • Mystery of the Blue Things

    Aunt Mel finds lots of strange things in her yard – arrow heads, strange looking beetles, shot gun shells and broken pieces of kid’s toys to name just a few. Recently she found lots of these little blue things. Do you know what these are?
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    They were all over the farm. These little blue pieces of something just laying on the ground. Its strange!

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    AMA_blueside_MelanieEberhardt
    Aunt Mel found one at the driveway gate, another on the sidewalk in front of the house.More were found inside the garage.
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    Even Frank was caught carrying one around in his mouth! What are these strange bright blue, slightly rubbery things? They’re blunt or torn on one end and taper to a pointing tip. Suddenly something slithered nearby and Aunt Mel caught a glimpse of something as it crawled across a rock. The mystery was solved!
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    A Blue Tailed Skink
    A Blue Tailed Skink

    LIZARD TAILS – GROSS! The Blue Tail Skink is a common Georgia lizard. Their bright blue tails come off when attacked by predators (Frank). One must have a strong stomach and plenty of disinfectant soap when one lives on a farm.

  • The Rats must die!

    There are lots of cute animals that live on Aunt Mel’s farm including several rodents. Tiny grey field mice make nice cat snacks. There are dozens of chipmunks along the tree line. The squirrels are like clowns with their crazy desperate antics to pilate from the bird feeders. Then there are the rats. Rats are not welcome at Aunt Mel’s farm.
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    Rats normally live in the fields, burrowing in the tall grass and along fence lines where they’re somewhat save from owls and hawks. But when it starts to get cold, the rats look for warmer homes and they’ve poorly chosen Aunt Mel’s garage. Once a rat finds a safe home, they start having baby rats. And pretty soon, the baby rats are having their own baby rats and within a few weeks, Aunt Mel’s garage becomes a nursery for field rats.

    They wreck havoc. They chew through metal tubs to get to the horse food. They make nests inside Aunt Mel’s riding mower, stuffing the battery cavity beneath the seat with all manner of soft bedding – hay, straw, chewed up bits of paper. They boldly dash around including running up Aunt Mel’s leg causing a horrific scare. Twice they chewed the starter wire to Aunt Mel’s car disabling it. Two tow truck lifts, two missed days of work and $600 in repairs and, well, simply put, those rats must die!

    Aunt Mel hates to kill any animals, all life is precious. But there is no sleep lost over dead rats. Aunt Mel took a trip to the hardware store and purchased a $12 poison feeder that was strategically placed near the horse’s grain bin. Within a few days, no more rats and good riddance!

  • The Drive In Diner – for Birds

    Each winter, Aunt Mel puts out a few bird feeders to help the wild birds forage. There is a feeder of fine thistle for the finches and two feeders of black oil sunflower seeds for everyone else. All sorts of birds from miles away stop by to dine. I guess word got out that the menu at Aunt Mel’s farm is top notch!
    Aunt Mels Animals crazy bird
    One little finch is not afraid of Aunt Mel. He will ride along on the edge of the feeder while Aunt Mel fills it with fresh seeds. These are just a few of the types birds commonly spotted at the feeders.

     

  • Run for Your Life – Godzilla is Coming!

    Early one morning Aunt Mel was feeding the horses. Just as she finished putting grain in the last feed tub, the trees began to shake and there was a loud prehistoric “BRAWK!”
    The horses spooked nearly running over Aunt Mel. We spun toward the tree to see if Godzilla was stomping toward us and instead caught a brief glimpse of the big blue heron and his girlfriend flying from the treetops. Phew! Everyone was relieved to see the cranes and not a huge monster!

  • SQUIRRELS!

    Annoying, loud and obnoxious. This summer there is an abundance of squirrels causing a raucous at Aunt Mel’s farm. From sun up to sun down, dozens of squirrels chase one another through the treetops, they bark at Aunt Mel and Lucky and raid the bird feeder. They aggravate Lyndon, they run along the pasture fence and frighten the horses. They’re so bold, they even nap on Aunt Mel’s picnic table under the shade tree. Aunt Mel’s farm has been over run by stupid squirrels!

  • Beware the Writer Spider’s Message

    Writer Spiders are frightening. They are big, shiny bugs that resemble colorful robots. The first time Aunt Mel saw a Writer Spider, she screamed. But she soon learned they are helpful spiders in the garden. And fear changed to respect.
    Big spiders build big webs, sometimes a foot or two across. The webs are strategically placed to catch as many bugs as possible. They are pulled taught by single threads tethered to nearby flowers and grass. In the center of the web, the spider spins a dense, thicker thread. Sometimes it looks like a cloud or cotton ball. Most of the time it is a zigzag that looks like printed letters. Hence the name, Writer Spider.

    The spider hangs upside down behind the dense center, hiding, and waiting to pounce on intruders. Every night the spider eats the center of her web and builds a new one. So every morning there are new “letters” to read.
    If the Writer Spider writes your name in her web, you’ll have bad luck. Aunt Mel checks the web daily – so far, so good.

    This year’s Writer Spider was especially large. She built her nest above the outside water spicket. Aunt Mel had to be careful not to stick her hand in the web. As fall approached, the spider spun a soft web filled with yellow goo. She filled the sack with her eggs. It hangs beneath the windowsill. After she lays her eggs, she stops eating and will die before the first frost. But next spring, on a warm day, the eggs will hatch and hundreds of little spider will throw out lines of webbing in the air. The wind will pick them up and blow them across the yard. Where they land, they will stay and build their own web.

  • Walking on Egg Shells


    How in the world did a big rock end up in the middle of the yard? Lucky spotted it and bolted toward it barking ferociously. As Aunt Mel neared, she realized it wasn’t a rock. It was a huge snapping turtle.
    It was late spring, it had rained for several days and the ground was soft and mushy. Apparently the turtle decided it was the perfect time to lay her eggs and the front yard was the best location.
    She never looked at Lucky who bounced around her still barking. She was digging a hole in which to deposit dozens of small white-ish eggs. She braced the ground with her front legs and swept her back legs side to side pushing the dirt aside. Aunt Mel didn’t want to upset the busy turtle. She grabbed Lucky and they went back in the house.
    About thirty minutes later, Aunt Mel ventured outside to check the turtle’s progress. The turtle was gone and the nest covered with a fresh mound of dirt.
    Aunt Mel watched for baby turtles, but never spotted them. They probably hatched and safely made it down the hill to the creek.

  • That’s MY Feeder!

    Hummingbirds zig and zag around the feeder on Aunt Mel's front porch

    Every spring the hummingbirds start flying around Aunt Mel’s front porch. They make it known that they’ve returned for the season and expect their feeder to be ready and full at all times.
    Aunt Mel always obliges. Its fun to watch the tiny birds feed throughout the day. Their wings flap so quickly you can’t clearly see them. And if you sit quietly on the porch, they’ll zoom overhead and you can hear them peep at one another.
    But this past summer, things got out of hand. By summer’s end there were at least 20 hummingbirds trying to use the feeder. As time neared for them to migrate hundreds of miles south, they became very aggressive trying to fuel up foe the long trip.
    Some of the hummingbirds would simply loiter around the feeder and when another approached, they were chased off. Others stood on the rim and drank and drank until Aunt Mel was certain they’d pop.
    Many times Aunt Mel covered her head and ducked past the feeder so she wasn’t hit in the head by the bossy hummingbirds. How could something so tiny and cute get so darn bossy?
    By October, it was time for the last of the lingering hummingbirds to fly south. Aunt Mel brought the feeder inside, cleaned it well and stored it for the winter. Finally the fighting hummingbirds left for their winter home.
    Hopefully next summer the trouble makers will find another feeder to patrol!

  • Motherhood is Tough

    Mother wren frantically follows her wayward baby
    For the past four or five years a brown wren has nested in Aunt Mel’s garage. Her nest is located inside a silver metal bucket hanging on a hook near the garage door. The wren flies in and out of the garage with twigs and hay building the perfect nest for her babies.
    Once the chicks hatch, mother wren stays busy delivering bugs to the hungry bunch. She chirps once as she enters the garage to announcing her return. The babies get so excited the bucket sways from side to side.
    This goes on until the babies are able to survive on their own. One morning, Aunt Mel raised the garage door and the babies were gone. She seldom sees them but often hears them singing in the trees.
    But this year was a little different. Aunt Mel watched one intrepid baby as it left the bucket-nest for the first time. The baby wren flew from the nest, brushed past Aunt Mel and landed on the hammock stand. He didn’t fly well and he probably didn’t mean to land on the hammock. But he was chirping and looking around and obviously pleased with his flight to freedom. Mother wren, however, was a nervous wreck.
    As he flitted across the yard on brief spurts of flight, she frantically followed behind, a big bug in her beak like a bribe for him to come back. But he didn’t give her a second look and continued exploring his new world. Mom was right behind him. Aunt Mel wondered how long mother wren followed her independent minded baby. It must be hard when the last one leaves the nest. But next spring, she’ll be back to raise a new flock of little brown wrens.

  • Santa’s Deer Make an Early Visit to Aunt Mel’s Farm

    The driveway to Aunt Mel’s farm is very long. Two overgrown fence lines and large unkept pastures flank it. Leaving the woods, the deer often walk along the drive on their way to feast in the neighbor’s apple trees. Usually they move at dawn or dusk but sometimes they’re out in the middle of the afternoon.

    Returning from errands, one hot summer afternoon, Aunt Mel had to slam on her breaks to avoid hitting deer in her driveway. Five large bucks were headed toward the apple trees. They stopped for a minute to make certain Aunt Mel was not a threat. Once assured, they hopped the fence in front of the truck and continued on their way.

    The leader was a very large buck with a rack of at least six or eight points. The bucks that followed were progressively younger, with smaller and smaller racks. The last deer barely had a stub with two points. Their antlers still growing, soft, thick and fuzzy. In the summer, the male deer will bond and form a temporary herd, as there is safety in numbers. They live together until mating season late in the fall. The older bucks teaching the younger ones how to survive.

    They five bucks were magnificent and Aunt Mel hopes to see them again.