Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

This blog will pay for itself.

He really is that stupid.

Found liable for massive fraud, is required to post a massive bond, gets a break, then files a *fraudulent* bond!

This really is a full service blog.

The problem people have with Biden’s age is the color of the VPs skin.

…and a burning sense of injustice to juice the soul.

Let’s finish the job.

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

Hot air and ill-informed banter

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

A thin legal pretext to veneer over their personal religious and political desires.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

We still have time to mess this up!

There is one struggling party in US right now, and it’s not the Democrats.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

If you are in line to indict donald trump, stay in line.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

It’s a doggy dog world.

The willow is too close to the house.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Late Night Open Thread: Animals Going Their Own Way

Late Night Open Thread: Animals Going Their Own Way

by | 51 Comments

This post is in: , ,

I told you the little bastid was too clever for his own good!…

For the xeriscapists:

Reader Interactions

51Comments

  3. 3.

    Ken

    I am reminded of a youtube video. Whether an animal can be domesticated depends on its social structure, and whether humans can insert themselves into it as the leader. Dogs think their human is leader of the pack. Cats — well, as the video says, a cat is a tiny tiger that lives in your house.

  5. 5.

    Villago Delenda Est

    If you have to have golf courses in Arizona (a point I don’t concede) they should consist entirely of cactus beds, rattlesnake dens, and large overhangs from mesas that have been rigged with explosives by a coyote.

    Those Javelinas have accounts with Acme. Do not underestimate them.

  6. 6.

    Ms. Deranged in AZ

    Javelinas aren’t the problem.  Humans expecting to put thousands of miles of grass filled golf courses in the desert are the problem.  Still waiting on the day I can leave this god forsaken state.

  12. 12.

    opiejeanne

    I’ve always lived with cats, except for a couple of years when I was in college, and they’ve all had their quirks, but I can’t imagine why that cat wants the perfume he stole.

  14. 14.

    moops

    golf course in desert.   Specifically, golf course in javalina territory.   I’m going to side with the native wildlife here over the golf course owners.   I expect this conflict to result in all the animals destroyed.

  15. 15.

    Anne Laurie

    @mrmoshpotato: That cat in the first video is a bastard.

    It is his nature.  Or so the Spousal Unit tells me when *his* cat, an all-ginger version of the jailbreaker in the top video, does things like crawling behind the back of a dresser drawer so he can use his whole 15lb weight to shove it open, steal the nicest / most expensive article of clothing there, and chew holes in it.

    Meezers love puzzles!…

  17. 17.

    Anne Laurie

    @opiejeanne:  I can’t imagine why that cat wants the perfume he stole.

    Cats have a really acute sense  of smell — better than dogs, some scientists think — and are ‘wired’ to hunt things.  I’ve known many cats who had an inexplicable fondness for what seemed like an unlikely scent:  vanilla candles (that dude kept burning his whiskers off), strawberry-scented lubricant, particular laundry detergents, the smell (through a window screen) of skunk…

  18. 18.

    eclare

    @Anne Laurie:

    Wow, that would be frustrating!  From what I’ve heard about beagles being escape artists, to me the cat in the first video has some beagle tendencies.

  19. 19.

    sab

    @Anne Laurie: Yikes. Thankfully, our chests of drawers are old and very heavy. Even a fifteen pound cat couldn’t budge one of its drawers, although our late much lamented StarScream undoubtedly tried.

    We had a german shepherd who could and did work the pedal on the kitchen trash can. We also had a labrador retriever who could open the fridge door.

  20. 20.

    Andrew Abshier

    @Ms. Deranged in AZ: Meanwhile in Florida, phosphates used to fertilize golf courses play a big role in red tide.  I would be fine if all of ours were redeveloped into natural spaces, but of course that’s a pipe dream.

    I want out of my godforsaken state, too.

  21. 21.

    Rokka

    Most of the areas the javalinas are digging are off the faiways which is sensible turf reduction in this case.

  22. 22.

    WereBear

    @Ken: WIth cats, we are welcomed to their Civilization.

    They are egalitarians. There is no Pack, and no Pack Leader.

    We are welcomed for our facility with hunting at Hannafords and keeping the bathroom clean. While our cuddly puppy cat, Morgen, has a new layer of growth spurt fat that is delightful to hug.

    I think it’s a fair deal.

    The book I’m writing now? Cat Civilization. For those multiple cat fans.

  25. 25.

    JPL

    Andrew McCabe is on CNN discussing the latest mass shooting.  It’s 5:30 am and he’s already for the day in his suit, white shirt and tie.

  26. 26.

    Mai Naem mobile

    Somebody is going to set Kenny Loggins’ ‘I’m Alright’ to  the clip of the javelina damaged golf course. I’ve seen a family of javelina from a few feet away. They’re pretty much like all wild animals. Leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone but they don’t look like an animal you want to mess around with.

  27. 27.

    Anne Laurie

    @eclare: From what I’ve heard about beagles being escape artists, to me the cat in the first video has some beagle tendencies.

    Beagles were bred to have what is politely called ‘a strong prey drive’.  (Which their wolfish ancestors of course all had, but breeders have chosen against it — as far as mere humans can — in a great many breeds.)  They want to run, they want to follow all the fascinating smells in the world, and unfortunately a great many ‘pet’ beagles are lost or killed (run over by cars, shot by frustrated neighbors, fall prey to the local coyotes) because their primal drives outsmart their humans’ abilities to keep them penned up…

    Cats have never really lost their predator instincts, but not all of them (thank Murphy) choose to express them so blatantly.

  28. 28.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Ms. Deranged in AZ: ​
     

    Javelinas aren’t the problem. Humans expecting to put thousands of miles of grass filled golf courses in the desert are the problem.

    This. As long as water is a scarce resource in Arizona, allowing golf courses to suck up massive quantities of water to keep their grass alive in a desert is absolutely nuts.

    Given that it’s allowed, if javelinas are what make it impractical to maintain golf courses in Arizona, I’m rooting for the javelinas.

  31. 31.

    WereBear

    @Anne Laurie:

    Cats have never really lost their predator instincts, but not all of them (thank Murphy) choose to express them so blatantly.

     
    Their job was to express those predatory instincts. We didn’t really touch them. In fact, until recently, DNA didn’t show we’d changed their genes enough for them to be considered domesticated :)

  34. 34.

    WereBear

    The late 70’s started a ton of “nature strikes back” films. One vivid Australian entry from 1984 was Razorback.

    I remember the VHS box had the review emblazoned on it, something like, “Undeniably the best movie ever made about a killer hog.”

  35. 35.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @lowtechcyclist: it is stupid. In the Phoenix area they do use treated waste water for golf courses so there is that. This javelina golf course is in Sedona. Hopefully they do that up there. Golf is a big tourist business in AZ so there is basically zero chance of getting rid of it. In the past year, two of my  neighbors pulled up their front lawns and put down artificial grass so people are waking up. Not xeriscaping but better than a lawn.

  37. 37.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Anne Laurie: MmmHmm..my first dog was a beagle We lived on an 80 acre farm and boy did she love to run. She met her end, as you say, chasing a rabbit across the (at that time relatively low traffic) blacktop road in front of the house. She was 4.

  38. 38.

    MomSense

    Not sure what the plan is today.  Schools, colleges, offices are all closed down.  My office in Portland is open so I may go in just to get away.
    It’s the fucking guns.  And I cannot understand why his reserve unit didn’t red flag him or make sure he didn’t have weapons.  He was committed for hearing voices over the summer.  He made threats against his reserve base.  WTF.  He killed people at teen night at the bowling alley.  Freedom’s just another word for shelter in place.

  41. 41.

    Yarrow

    @MomSense:  Horrifying. I’m so sorry for everyone involved, including nearby residents like yourself that just want to go about their day.

  42. 42.

    zhena gogolia

    @MomSense: I’m so sorry. I have friends in Portland but don’t want to bother them right now. We haven’t been in touch in a while and it seems intrusive. We’re thinking of you.

  46. 46.

    WaterGirl

    @Anne Laurie: My dog Bailey totally had a thing for hair product.  I just use shampoo.  But oh my gosh, if you came over and had used any kind of hair gel or hair spray or any of the goop the some people put in their hair, Bailey would rub his face in your hair, over and over until you said “enough”.

    No one ever got mad, and everyone loved Bailey and his little quirk.

  49. 49.

    lee

    The tweet about the golf course in Arizona has locked down comments. It looks like the highest liked comment (over 20k) is “Solution: stop wasting precious resources on golf courses.”

Comments are closed.