Sweetgrass Wildlife

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Sweetgrass Wildlife

Since we live on country property, I thought I would dedicate this page to the animals that have been on or near the grounds . . . or just passing through.

BUNNIES - So adorable and you can even get close but they wont let you cuddle them. Well, you can actually catch the small ones. They live under the B&B porch, around the woodpile, wherever. Sometimes you see them play the bunny version of leapfrog. I enjoy seeing them in the yard as I serve breakfast on the porch.

DEER - You're more apt to see them early in the morning or late at night. They can actually jump over the fence next to the B&B when at a standstill. I rarely see them but when it snows, there are tracks everywhere. I have not been able to get a picture of them yet, by the time they see you they are almost out of sight.

COYOTES - I've never seen them but you can sometimes hear them yapping up a storm late at night. We don't seem to have many in this area, probably more up in the hills.

HAWKS - We do periodically see hawks here but this is a picture of the one from Reptile Gardens. He comes over here every now and again looking for a "snack". Isn't he magnificent! Reptile Gardens is across the highway from us, they have much more than reptiles. Check them out at www.reptilegardens.com

MOUNTAIN LIONS - I have NEVER seen them on the property, however, we have occasionally seen their tracks after it has snowed. They have been periodically spotted at the Hart Ranch Golf Course which is only a few miles from here.

TURKEYS - These goofy looking creatures won't hurt anyone, they just dig in the dirt. Been told they aren't good eating although I suspect the coyotes disagree. I've gone months without seeing any and then they reappear again. Up Neck Yoke Road you'll find tons of them.

Proud mom and babies in the backyard

Who says turkeys can't fly?

COWS - Not exactly wild but certainly near by. They are moved from field to field during the year although you see very little of them after July. Early in the morning, just go outside to hear them mooing. California cows arent the only happy cows around. As you can see, they are trying to get over to the Sweetgrass side, they know the grass is greener!

BIG GUY - That is what his owners named him but they moved away and left him behind. I ran into his owner in town one day and shared my opinion but she didnt care. BigGuy used to take off for weeks and months at a time in his quest for the ladies and would come back in pretty bad shape, cuts, gashes, scars and one time, he limped back with his toe nail hanging, OUCH. Anyway, the West River Spay and Neuter Coalition helps with the cost of getting unwanted cats fixed and we were able to catch him and get that done February 2009. So he has become quite the gentle cat and helps keep down the mice population.
UPDATE: June 2010 - Took Big Guy to the vet to get his teeth cleaned (they looked so bad). Anyway, the ones he had left, all had to be pulled! He's doing very well and about a month later, he began hunting again.

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THE PERILS OF PAULINE -- Lost and Found

We starting seeing little Pauline off and on starting Sept 2007. Was able to feed her from a distance from time to time and finally, she got closer and closer. Got her to come in the house the end of January and saw that her tags had a Louisiana phone number. Called her owners, Cary and Eileen who had visited this area June 2006, which is when Pauline got lost. Anyway, after getting an abcessed canine tooth pulled, we put her on a plane home 2 days later. Her owners actually lost their home in hurricane Katrina (Pauline survived that too) and bought an RV to travel in for awhile. They were reunited Feb 3, 2008! Pauline even remembered her favorite places in their RV.

Waiting to go home

My mom really missed me

Back home in one of my favorite sleeping spots

UPDATE ON PAULINE!
Now it is April 2009 and her parents sent a new picture of her. Here she is, totally crashed out, soaking up the sun on the RV dashboard. She probably hasnt seen a temperature under 50 degrees since she got home.

ANOTHER UPDATE ON PAULINE!
Well imagine my surprise when my doorbell rang on May 27th (2010) and there stood Pauline's parents! They are RV'ing across the country and came through Rapid City, SD. Naturally, Pauline is RV'ing with them. Here's another updated picture of Pauline, definitely bigger than when she first found us several years ago. Although Pauline has less than 9 lives to go, she has a wonderful family who is doing everything they can to be sure she doesnt use up any more lives!

PAULINE May 2010

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In loving memory of Tiger and Smudgie

Chillin' after a hard's day work

ALL ABOUT TIGER

A friend up the road found Tiger when he was only a couple of weeks old. He could not find his mother or other kittens and didn't think he would survive. I offered to cat sit for him when he had to go out of town. I bottle fed him for 3 weeks. He came by three separate times to get Tiger. The 3rd time I finally told him I could not give him up. Tiger loved people, especially men. He was so affectionate and drooled when he purred. He "read" the paper every day with Lee, my husband. He was a large, heavy cat and I could never figure out how I could wake up in the morning and find him stretched out on me -- he was so gentle. . . . my Tiger was only three

Unable to avoid the camera

ABOUT OUR SMUDGIE

Smudgie was another feral cat. His mother brought him to us when he was about 8 weeks old, he was the only kitten she had left. She disappeared a week later. It took awhile to gain his trust. He ended up never trusting anyone but us. He preferred coming into the house by climbing up the posts on the back porch and through the door on the upper deck. He too was very loving and affectionate and did this little dance when excited and happy. After he died, his best friend Bailey kept looking out the window for him and calling him, many times in the middle of the night. Bailey became increasingly depressed and after 3 months he lost his animated personality and barely moved around. Look below to see how Bailey got his old self back!
Smudgie's bright light was extinguished in barely two years.

My new little brother

. . . he is also my best friend

Friends of ours found kittens in their barn. He was the runt of the litter and his mother and littermates began rejecting him - he'd sit huddled nearby relying on his own body heat to keep warm. We brought him home hoping he and Bailey would bond. This picture was taken two weeks later. Bailey is like Kahlua's older brother, teaching him his bad habits and so on. They sleep and snuggle together all the time. Bailey eventually stopped looking for Smudgie.

By the way, we found Bailey several years ago, very thin and after feeding him for about 2 weeks, he crawled up on my lap and that's when we discovered he had no claws. He's been in the house ever since. We were unable to find his owners.

Hobbes crossed over the rainbow November 2009, she was 14. When Lee found her many years ago, she was a tiny kitten and he "removed" her from some homeless guy walking down the street. She was a very loud purrer and extremely affectionate. Her best friend was our boxer, never our other cats. She loved sitting in our laps and before getting sick, she would walk with me whenever I walked to the other buildings on our property.