Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Weird Wednesday v.2.6

In celebration of things quirky, weird, odd or funny. If it strikes my funny bone, you'll probably see it here.

 

"I used to think anyone doing anything weird was weird. Now I know that it is the people that call others weird that are weird." ----Paul McCartney

 

Take a look at this weird phenomenon. I think it looks like one of the prairie dog colonies you might find in the Great Plains that run from northern Texas to eastern Montana. There are somewhere between 40 and 50 mounds in this picture alone. Notice the older mounds that have been beaten down by the weather, and the newer mounds where the dirt appears fresh and relatively undisturbed.

Somebody has been busy!

But this picture was taken in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where prairie dogs do not live.

Dang mounds are ruining our view!

This weird landscape is the result of the work of one or more moles on our property. Here's the culprit:

How do you like those nails?

The Washington State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife reports that a single mole can construct 200 mounds over the course of a winter! We've experienced a relatively mild winter, which may be the reason our resident mole(s) has been so active the last few months.

My husband has tried to address our little pest problem. In scenes reminiscent of "Groundhog Day", he repeatedly develops detailed plans of attack that usually end in defeat. He's tried a number of ploys (everything short of lethal methods) with limited success. Fortunately, he has been able to chase them out of our main lawn area. Unfortunately, he has yet to eradicate our "friends".

Maybe it's time to make nice with the neighbors?


What's the weirdest thing in YOUR neighborhood?

 

3 comments:

  1. Ew, do moles really look like that?! Gross.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Okay, the moles? Totally creepy looking. If there isn't already, there should be some sort of horror movie based on them. Like Leprachauns or something.

    I hope you get the problem situated!

    We live out in the country, so we often get armadillos plowing around in our yard - although my husband is not nearly as nice to them as yours is to the moles.

    ReplyDelete
  3. WOW I did not realize that they had such huge fingernails!

    When my sister was little she was OBSESSED with prairie dogs. My mom took her to the zoo every week and they'd spend forever at the prairie dog exhibit. And when she got home she'd climb in the toybox and actually pretend she was a prairie dog! Ha!

    ReplyDelete