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Yes, moose are more solitary and don't travel far. Used to make great moose soup from the bones. We intrigued the neighbourhood kids with moose carcass hanging in the garage and blue tarps over the windows. It was like that Arnie film scene in the slaughterhouse.

Saw a wolf out front one very cold winter day Jan 1st. They were in the woods opposite the house. Coyotes too, and deer and foxes. Here we hear the coyotes singing their songs at night.

I agree that so many organisms are beautiful - viruses, diatoms, really anything you can see under a microscope/electron microscope. Loved studying them.

Hope you can get dh into a better routine, psue.
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cwillie, I'm in Ft. Pierce FL right now (the place that had like multiple tornados that preceded hurricane Milton). Yesterday I visited my cousin and wife in a neighborhood where their house was spared but 3 of their close neighbors' homes were not. He showed me the video he was shooting up to the point where they realized it was coming right at them. In FL no one has basements and they only had enough time to scramble into their garage and shut the door and dive under their car. They said it sounded like a freight train and they could hear the other homes being torn to pieces. Was 15 seconds of utter terror for them. One of the homes had the roof and side sheered off but you can look inside to see clothes still neatly hanging in the closet and a perfectly made bed.

My cousin sent me a picture his friend took of 4 tornados lined up next to each other, all the same size, in Ft. Pierce. I wish I could post it here, it doesn't look real.

My 105-yr Aunt lives 1/4 mile from Spanish Lakes where 6 people were killed, yet barely a palm frond was on her lawn when she returned to it after sheltering with a relative. She has 9 lives, like her cat...
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Wow, Geaton. Amazing stories. Absolutely terrifying and awesome (not in a good way).

Golden, I have tasted both moose and bear (also rattlesnake) and have not particularly liked any of them enough to choose them off a menu. Now Emu is another story as are Bison and wild boar, all of which are delicious.

Are wolves more dangerous or aggressive than coyotes? We lived quite peacefully around coyotes in our previous home but you did have to keep an eye on pets and small livestock. There are noisy coyotes here and I assume foxes, although I haven’t seen any. Cougars have been spotted down by the river but not in our woods.

Nacy, insects are SO interesting. In our old location we had Jerusalem Crickets…weird! Also black widow spiders, which are very pretty as far as spiders go. We also had ugly scorpions - I woke one night to see one on sleeping DH’s back! I backhanded it across the room where it hit the wall, fell to the floor, and crawled into the closet door pocket, never to be seen again. Many more interesting bugs there than here but I can’t say I miss them.
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Geaton - Oh my goodness. So scary!!!

psue -Moose can be great - depends. I'm not fond of venison. Haven't tried bear, but I'm not inclined to. Bison, yes. The best is caribou - never had such tender tasty meat. Elk is good too. Pronghorn - too "sagey"

I think all carnivores can be dangerous to smaller animals, and some are dangerous to us. If anything I suppose wolves are more dangerous as they are bigger. Though I don't think there are many records of attacks on humans. Now I wouldn't want to live near cougars. We lost Rocky's sister to a fox almost certainly, or a coyote. Poor Pumpkin! She was not a cautious creature.

nacy - I can do without most insects - not a fave of mine unless you are talking about beautiful butterflies, moths and dragonflies. I like ladybugs too.

I just made some ground turkey vegetable soup for supper. R wants left over turkey necks and there aren't enough for two.
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Golden, I was sheltered growing up, bugs became my best friend. 😂

I'll stick to foods meats I get out of the grocery store. 😁

Some people are very critical about letting cats outside, it's a personal decision and not against the law. I taught my cats to stay out of the road and in are yard, but if we lived at my husbands family farm, I think there biggest danger would be the eagles, and owls, and coyotes. Rumors of wolves, I've seen some suspicious pitchers on the hunters cameras, of possibly wolves and very large cat.
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Hmmm, hadn’t thought about owls - we have plenty of those, but I thought they usually went for small rodents. I’ve found a few owl ‘pellets’ in the woods and am saving them for Science day with GD during the summer. Did it with my own kids a few times; a couple pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass and you can find intact and identifiable bones, even whole skulls.

I never had carabou, Golden. Another thing to put on my list. I get the impression you’ve had a very interesting life. Have you thought of writing a book? There was a way of life that is almost lost. My mom lived it for her first 20 years and she was good about giving my sibs and me summers on the farm where she grew up. I’m sad I can’t really share much of a ‘non-tech’ life with my GD.

That makes a pretty decent whine moment for today!
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First comment...my 'whine'...I do not understand, nor am I able to get my 81-year-old mother to understand, it is not a good idea, nor should she do it...go outside to 'work' in the yard, when it is 82 degrees feel like index of 85 degrees...while she is battling UTI...caused by dehydration.... caused by working out in the heat of the day.
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Marine - good luck with that. That was actually an attention seeking tactic by my mother - winter clothes and ‘working’ outdoors during a heat wave. Dehydration, vomiting, UTI, so she had to see a Dr and I had to care for her more. It was all so frustrating.

Peasuep - Great Horned Owls can take a grown cat. Hawks - anything under 4lb is at risk. My neighbour scooped and ran with her chihuahua once she realized a hawk was stalking it. One dull evening, as our indoor cat stood by the sliding glass door, I realized a Great Horned Owl was on the ground just outside the door, intently watching her.

Owl trivia: (stop eating) Ever seen dead rodents hung in trees? If so, you may have a Barred Owl. (or a shrike if spiked on a thorn) They save them for later.

I’m a treasure trove of grisly trivia.
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I lived in an Indian village in northern Canada when I was in my 20s--ate caribou (yummy), moose (good, but not as good as caribou), arctic hares (tasty), and muskrat (also tasty). I live in Maine, and back about 15 years ago I hit a moose at twilight when I was driving in the northeastern part of the state. Luckily it was a juvenile and a glancing blow; the moose survived, and my car did as well with just a broken headlight, side mirror dangling, and moose hair embedded in the rubber around my windshield. We used to let our cats outside, but they were big guys, around 13-15 lbs, so I don't think they would have been prey for an owl or hawk. I now live in a condo complex in another Maine city and we are required to have pets leashed if they are outdoors, so current kitty is indoor only. Even if he could go out, we have coyotes around, right in the city (!), so it wouldn't be safe.
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Marine, I’m constantly fighting dehydration/UTI with my DH with the added bugaboo of nighttime incontinence (meaning, we try to limit fluid intake after 4pm).

His Dr. told him at least 2 quarts of water a day so what he does is pack his quart container with ice and dribble in as much water as will fit between the cubes and drink until the liquid is gone. He does that twice and calls it following doctor’s orders!
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Ana, great facts! Thanks! I love grisly trivia!
We have predominantly Great Horned owls here so I guess it’s good I haven’t adopted a cat although I have longed for one. I don’t think DH would be able to consistently close doors behind himself or even notice if a kitty snuck out between his feet when he goes out.
We also have Barred Owls - they have the weirdest call I’ve ever heard. I actually thought a neighbor was pranking me the first time I heard one. I had to record it with my Merlin app to believe it was a bird. Unfortunately there is a plan here to kill them off but there was such a public outcry it’s been tabled for now.
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Newbie, I’ve had rabbit, but it was farm-raised for the table so there’s probably little resemblance to a wild hare. Muskrat? Never saw one, ate one, or knew anyone who did….until now! Is it similar to Pica? We had Rockchucks (Marmot) where we used to live but they, and the giant Jackrabbits, weren’t considered food by anything but the coyotes. I’ll try anything…once, except I draw the line at any sort of insect. Just -can’t.
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I’ve eaten kangaroo several times, usually road kill from hitting our vehicle. Often tough, it depends on the age. It’s sold in butchers shops, always young and tender. Hare a couple of times. Once I hung a hare for a week or so, as advised in game cookery, and I liked it but DH didn’t. I’ve eaten witchetty grubs, which are delicious lightly toasted in the ashes of a fire, and are very hard to come by. They live in tree roots (of acacia kempiana, if you're interested), and the only ones I’ve eaten were when we met a couple of Aboriginal women way out bush, and they shared. My then partner helped with digging the roots out with a crow bar. Because DH and I slaughtered and butchered our own sheep, I’ve got used to dealing with anything edible.
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Margaret, YES, I’m interested! But NO, NO, NO, not grubs! Although I’d probably be able to get one down if roasted - I thought they were eaten alive and squirming. However if they are so hard to find I will gladly donate my portion to someone who really appreciates them.
Kangaroo, bring it on!
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As you are interested, kangaroo is a bit of a problem here. They are protected as a native species and you need a permit to kill them. They can’t be farmed as they are shocking on fences (over, under, destroy), but they build up in fringe farming districts because of the available water troughs. We get them as roadkill or very occasionally caught up in fences. Professional shooters are licensed and regulated, and the meat is sold in many (not all) butchers shops. My daughter with MS has a diet excluding saturated fats, but can eat roo occasionally as it is very very low fat. Only not now, as she is living in Ireland and roo is just too hard to find!
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Had jugged hare many years ago in the UK. It was good!

Life in Northern Alberta can be interesting. Got moose blood on the ceiling once when we butchered a moose in the kitchen. I had photos of the process - no idea where they are now. Moose rib cage is huge,

Both ex and R hunted and butchered. Ex was Cree - native Canadian so we had access to caribou. I actually saw a herd on the edge of town up north once.

My life has had many phases, psue - some better than others.
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Margaret, I live in Canada and we can purchase roo for both human and pet consumption. It is not common.

Peasuep, the proposed cull of barred owls is sad but I can appreciate the need to save spotted owls, What an awful decision to have to make.
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Peasuep, I think the owls eat the gizzards of some animals. Hubby found a house cat of someones, at his family farm, with nothing but the insides missing, we suspected an owl
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"Michael"s" a very dangerous store, to your wallet
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As is JoAnn’s!
And Home Depot!
And any and all garden centers!
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Golden, it would be tedious to read about a life that was only good or only bad. I think your life, what little I’ve heard about it, sounds fascinating.
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Costco is my kryptonite. I've taken to going in without the cart.
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Thanks, Psue. Lots of challenges for sure.
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