26 April 04

From the Window at Work

I’ve been in my new job for two months now. The warblers are coming through; today I heard a Wilson’s for the first time. The jackrabbits, cottontails, and ground squirrels have an uneasy sharing of the green grass which, if this heat continues, won’t be green much longer. The horses have been drooping their heads in the heat, looking for the shade, waiting for the man in the truck at 2:40 to bring their hay.

One thing about working with a posse of wildlife vets is that offhand comments are no longer offhand. I mentioned that the ground squirrels seemed to have finished their elaborate tail-thrashing courtships, assuming the females all to be pregnant.

“Did you know that the California ground squirrel has the largest testicles-per-pound of any mammal?” was the reply.

I didn’t know this. Now I do. Such are my window musings.

Posted by at 06:54 PM in Nature and Place | Link |
  1. Any photos of the view from the window? At the moment I envisage a vista of paddocks, a lagoon in the middle of the fields and the occasional tree – am I even close? By the way vets have a habit of dropping comments like the one you mention (my sister is one) – a bit like doctors when they’re all together.

    — Jenny    27. April 2004, 12:35    Link
  2. It is really exciting when you hear a newly arrived migrant.

    Re squirrel balls: perhaps that where they store their peanuts.

    — Coup de Vent    27. April 2004, 12:53    Link
  3. I didn’t know that either… but god you had me laughing! Great way to start the day.

    — butuki    27. April 2004, 19:13    Link

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