Suburban Wildlife Encounters

amother

OP ↓

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 10:00 pm

So I’ve been living in the suburbs almost all my life, but recently moved to somewhere that’s more in the sticks.
I’m still getting used to the wildlife encounters I have here. And I’m not talking about the neighbors dog.

I just went out to bring the trash bin down to the curb for pickup tomorrow morning. I’m a grown up, I do this stuff. I come back inside and a few seconds later I feel something on my hand. I shake it off and shriek when I realize it’s a little baby sized frog/toad (I’m no expert but it’s brown and hoppy) and it starts hopping across my kitchen floor. I scramble for a plastic cup and chase it down and become a frog wrangler. It jumps against the cup for a few minutes while I pray it doesn’t stage a breakout or call for backup. Quickly pull out my phone to text my wildlife manager (aka the better half) and plead with him to come home asap. He’s still not home (apparently a rogue amphibian doesn’t constitute an emergency). So now I’m sitting on the couch with my feet up or course while keeping a wary eye on the cup, and questioning all my life decisions.

amother

Feverfew ↓

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 10:15 pm

ok thats gross but kinda cute. but its nothing compared to whats still to come; bears, deer, racoons, skunks, the odd fox and wild turkey...
my weirdest story was a couple years ago when I was in high school and was walking home from a friends house. she lived in a quiet neighborhood and as I was walking I suddenly realized that all the trees lining the road were full, and I repeat full, of wild, shrieking turkeys (at least I think they were turkeys, it didnt look like any other large bird). I was sure I was having some sort of distopian nightmare and was terrified theyre gonna swarm me or something. luckily they didnt.
but even now I sometimes still question if it was some weird illusion or something cuz it was just so strange.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 10:22 pm

UPDATE: The Wildlife Manager has arrived on the scene, assessed the situation, and safely escorted the frog out the door. I can finally breathe again, and my heart rate has returned to normal. I've been assured that our home is no longer under frog occupation, and I can resume my regular adulting activities...

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 10:23 pm

amother Feverfew wrote:

Ugh no!! That sounds so creepy.
Thank God I’ve never seen wild turkeys here. At least not yet.

amother

↑ Feverfew

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 10:28 pm

amother OP wrote:

oh bh.
I really wanted to make a ceasefire joke, cuz frog occupation, but I think we're gonna skip it.

amother

NeonOrange

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 10:50 pm

amother OP wrote:

Bh! Lesson for life to never leave the door open!!
We have on our lawn & backyard deer, raccoons, groundhogs, geese, skunks, rabbits.... we live in a zoo.

amother

Cream ↓

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 10:58 pm

I feel you! I don't live in the suburbs, rather in a large city where there're always building works going on, hence this problem!

You ready...? Was serving the friday night meal one cozy Winter's night. It was wet, gloomy and dark outside, the type of weather people hunker down indoors. Apparently local 'wildlife' felt the same, because as I opened my cupboard door, out jumped a huge grey RAT! And then another.....

mandr

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 11:02 pm

We went to the Bushkill falls two weeks ago and before the hike we were shown a Wildlife Exhibit witch all sorts of taxidermy animals found in the wild: bears, deer, wild turkeys, possums, skunks, raccoons, foxes, wolves, squirrels, owls, etc. My husband and I turned to each other and said, "this is our backward!". Literally see all these things all the time.

amother

↑ Cream

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 11:07 pm

giftedmom wrote:

The first time I saw foxes casually strolling the London streets I freaked out. Had to google it. I’m used to small cats these are double the size!

Foxes in London?? In the city or on the outskirts?

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Sep 05 2024, 11:19 pm

amother NeonOrange wrote:

Bh! Lesson for life to never leave the door open!!
We have on our lawn & backyard deer, raccoons, groundhogs, geese, skunks, rabbits.... we live in a zoo.

Lol yup. Trying to ingrain the “close the door” mindset in to my kids.
We’ve had a chipmunk come in through an open door. My kids thought it was hilarious. At least it was cuter then a frog.

The other time, we had chipmunk sneak in via my grocery order. I opened a box on my kitchen counter and a chipmunk jumped right out at me. Apparently he was out foraging and entered the cardboard box through the “handle” cutouts. The food was intact, my sanity on the other hand…

amother

↑ OP

Fri, Sep 06 2024, 9:55 am

amother Calendula wrote:

PKL?

No, but I must say I'm flattered.

When I told over the tale to my kids, they were upset they missed all the drama. And my son was upset he missed the opportunity to be my savior. I told him I'm sure there will be more opportunities to save me.

amother

Freesia

Fri, Sep 06 2024, 1:42 pm

I live in Manhattan. The week we moved into our current apt dh found two raccoons on our fire escape. Walking in the park I've seen at various times a rabbit, a groundhog, a hedgehog, skunks, a hawk (or some bird of prey, I'm no ornithologist), and once a young deer just moseying along the paths. Not counting squirrels and, to my horror, rats.