life out back

it has been a busy few days on the farm in terms of wildlife sightings. on wednesday morning, while out walking the dogs, i spotted two fisher cats on the street. jake immediately turned into a menacing attack dog, barking and snarling (which is so different from his normal reaction when we encounter people, dogs, cats, and many inanimate objects on our walks, which is a lot of tail wagging, body wiggling, ear scratching (sort of a nervous-delight tic he has developed) and that frightful but benign dog smile) and embarrassing me in front of the fishers.

the next outstanding animal was seen by john, who does the haying at the farm. yesterday morning he spotted a bald eagle circling one of the hay fields. i bet that thing could carry off little nina totenberg without much effort.

and the final animal- well, i hesitate to mention it because it is a state-listed species. maybe we should be keeping it a secret. or maybe i should think of ways to use it as a "secret"- a secret weapon, that is. if i could just train it to respond to the sound of my voice or maybe hypnotize it by playing some delightful yet eerie flute music... ok, i will say this: it was discovered (again by john the hayman) living no more than 20 feet from matt's bee hives in a pile of bricks that he has pilfered from many times and it hisses and also makes another kind of noise that might or might not be described as a rattle. think about it.

i'll also tell you the following (gleaned the from the massachusetts natural heritage endangered species website):

This species has two well-developed and enlarged venom-conducting fangs, located at the front of the mouth and secured to the upper jawbone. The fangs are movable and fold against the roof of the mouth when not in use. A fleshy sheath covers each fang when the mouth is closed. The fangs are not permanent; they are shed periodically. Each fang socket has several replacement fangs in various stages of development, located in the gum behind the functional fang. Before a fang is shed, a new one is already positioned. Each fang is connected internally to a venom gland. Through muscular action, venom is forced from the gland through a venom duct to the hollow fang and then into prey.

nina totenberg- you better check yourself.