JinglePets Studio Blog

We spend a lot of time outdoors waiting around for one of natures’ miracles to happen. It could be anything from a bug we’ve never seen before, a ferocious bolt of lightening (we love storms!), or a rare Golden Fox sighting. There is a rather large creek just down the drive so we regularly see animals/birds that are attracted to the water and the available food sources.

A few weeks ago we found ourselves suspended in awe as we suddenly heard the unmistakable swoop/swoosh of very large wings. From just the sound of the wings we assumed it would be a Turkey Vulture because they are so common in this area…and they are HUGE.

Wrong! A very large bird (3½ to 4 ft. tall - wingspan of 4-5 ft.) landed on a fence post a scant 20 ft. from us. We stopped breathing! Stilt-like legs, a long sinuous neck, clothed in velvety medium gray feathers…a Crane…a Heron…what? We couldn’t take our eyes off of it thinking it would take flight again any minute. Rats…no camera! (isn’t this always the way it works out?)

Five minutes, ten minutes: We are dumbfounded the bird is hanging around so long! I moved around a few times to see what it would do, thinking I might try creeping inside for the camera, and it continued to sit serenely sunning itself. Our minds were in a whirl taking in every detail so we could research it on the internet.

WHOOSH…it flew off through the trees toward the creek…We ran to the office and began a web search for a bird we’d never seen before. It wasn’t until we found a photo of a juvenile Great Blue Heron that we knew who our visitor was! 

Bird Web has a rather extensive listing on this, the largest of the waterfowl native to North America.

We can’t wait to watch this graceful creature flying and hunting around our creek next year!

Happy September!
JP Studio Crew    

Little Simon is growing and learning about life as fast as he can! He spends time crawling around on the tree branches in his cage and snuggling up in the fabric nest Samantha made for him. This is the cage that will be used for his soft release in a couple of months. Simon is becoming more squirrel-like in his behavior and loves running back and forth playing on the sofa!

A few days ago Simon snuggled into the pillows on Sam and Dwayne’s bed and fell asleep. Samantha left him sleeping while she went upstairs to do dome work. A couple of hours later she went to check on him but he wasn’t there. She found Simon safe on his favorite sofa running around. She couldn’t figure out how he knew which room the sofa was in. Squirrels either have very good noses or extra good memories!

Although very tolerant of canine visitors and temporary boarders like little Simon, Stuart loves the limelight and prefers to be “top dog” at home. Recently Samantha and Dwayne kept their friend’s dogs for a few days; Amber a Dachshund, and Shirley an English Bulldog.

They were all gathered in the living room with Stuart ensconced on his favorite pillow and Sam on one of the sofas feeding Simon. Suddenly Amber and Shirley jump onto the other sofa with Dwayne. Stuart jumps up from his pillow and runs over to Dwayne as if to say “What about me?” 

So, Dwayne quickly picked Stuart up putting him on the sofa, then told the dogs to get down. But….too little too late….Stuart was so upset that he jumped off the sofa with a “thanks but no thanks” look on his face.  Dwayne and Sam say they understand how hard it is for Stuart to share the attention but he is still, and will always be their number one.  There is an upside for Stuart though…. he has been getting extra tomatoes to make up for any unintended slights!

9/12 update from Samantha: Simon’s newest thing is that when he gets sleepy he gets off the sofa, goes down the hall and finds the room where his cage is located. He shimmies up the stand that the cage is on, gets into his nest in the cage and falls asleep. He is sooo smart! More fun info about squirrels!

It won’t be long now before Samantha and Dwayne begin to plan in detail for Simon’s introduction to the wild world. It should be a great opportunity for all of us to learn more about our bushy-tailed friends. 

Stay tuned for the next update…

The JP studio crew

Look! Down on the dirt…underneath the tangle of grass…it’s a flash of neon-fiery red with black markings…moving at what seems to be the speed of light! And it’s HISSING! We darn near break our necks running for the camera. No time to change the macro lens we’ve been using for product photos, or grab the tripod.

Like the Keystone Cops of silent film fame, we’re scrambling and tripping around the yard trying to keep up with the lightening moves of this very alien looking insect! It’s shaped like an ant but it’s HUGE…almost an inch long. We’re desperate for a photo to help us identify this creature.

It’s moving way too fast to get a clear shot, so we briefly discuss putting it in one of our hands to get a closer look at it. Ok…we know in the back of our minds that vivid colors in nature usually mean a very highly evolved defense mechanism…and then there’s the loud hissing to consider.

Thinking it wouldn’t be humane to over-stress the bug by picking it up, we cranked out as many photos as we could get until it crawled into the edge of the woods and disappeared.

What we didn’t know until after some research is that one of the names for this mysterious bug is “Cow Killer.” It is said that the sting from this insect is so painful that it could kill a cow! Wow…just how glad were we that we didn’t disturb this flashy little guy!

Further inquiries led us to the University of Kentucky Entomology website where we found it is also called the Velvet Ant and is actually a female wingless wasp rather than an ant. Their sting is infamous and there are countless online accounts of people’s curiosity getting them in big trouble with this beautiful insect! Only the females sting, and like all other wasps, they usually sting multiple times.

Look but don’t touch!

So……should you run across one of these venomous beauties, no matter how tempted you may be to get up close and personal with her…DON’T!

Happy Bug Watching!
The JP Crew 

Simon’s Story

Stuart’s Mom and Dad arrived home late on a Friday night and decided to do some house cleaning. Samantha went into the kitchen to move a box from the countertop to the fireplace hearth. As she bent down to set the box on the hearth she saw something lying on the fireplace and screamed! 

Dad to the rescue! Samantha thought it might be a dead mouse but Dwayne said, “It looks like a baby squirrel, and I think he just fell down the chimney!” Samantha took a closer look at it and thought with that kind of fall it surely must be dead. Just then the baby squirrel slowly opened and closed his eyes……

No more than 5 inches long, and very weak, this little fella was in big trouble. Sam and Dwayne placed him in a five gallon bucket with some soft cloth padding while they started an internet search, hoping they could learn enough quickly to ensure his survival.

From photos and descriptions Sam and Dwayne learned that the baby squirrel was between 4 and 5 weeks old and they started out feeding him puppy weaning formula using an oral syringe. They also contacted some other folks who have raised squirrels to check out the finer points of the process. 

Little “Simon” is thriving beautifully…running around and happy! Samantha takes him to work with her (same routine as baby Stuart) so she can give him his mid-day feedings. Dwayne took him to work recently and everyone loved him, especially his boss…whose shoulder Simon immediately peed on!

This week Simon is learning all about eating more solid foods but still needs his baby formula.  His favorite solid food right now is a wheat snack mix. Eating standing up with food in his paws is proving to be quite a challenge! Being a baby still, little Simon isn’t all that steady on his feet and falls over quite a bit. 

Recently Simon crawled out of his bucket, soon making his way into the bedroom with Stuart. Some pretty loud quacking let them know Simon was in the bedroom. Stuart is doing a fine job as a watch-duck for baby Simon. He’s such a good boy!!!  

The plan is to try not to get too deeply attached so that they can give Simon a soft release in about four months. At that time his cage will be placed outdoors with the door open so he can have easy access to food, water and a safe snuggly spot while he’s exploring the natural world.

Right now Samantha and Dwayne are dedicated parents to this sweet squirrel and it’s hard for them to think about letting him go. Check back here in a few weeks for an more of Simon’s adventures.

Hope you all enjoy Simon’s baby photos as much as we did!
The JinglePets Gang

Ok…I have to admit here that frogs don’t give me that warm/fuzzy feeling that most animals do. Of course there’s a long story in this but I won’t go there.  And, I further confess to spending a fair amount of time in the summer dodging frogs and toads whenever possible. There’s just something about the moist slap-smurrge sound when they land on our patio…..and then there’s all that unpredictable JUMPING!

But…I’m really beginning to miss the little buggers! With only 2 frogs and 3 toads making an appearance this year I am concerned enough to investigate. Found a wealth of info on the global frog crisis at Save the Frogs.

Photo courtesy of Sun Catcher Photos 

Startling headline from the STF website: “Frog populations have been declining worldwide at unprecedented rates, and nearly one-third of the world’s 6,317 amphibian species are threatened with extinction. At least 100 species have completely disappeared since 1980, and this is NOT normal: amphibians naturally go extinct at a rate of only about one species every 250 years!!!”

These little guys are in real trouble and desperately need our help…here’s HOW!

Now for some Frog Fun! If you live on the west coast you’re just a hop and a half away from the world renowned jumping frog competition at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee. The 2008 champion was a frog named Skeeter Eater from Fresno, CA. The winning jump was an amazing 19 feet 3 ½ inches with Skeeter capturing the title for the second year in a row!

“Skeeter Eater” - Photo by Greg Kristapovich

Until next time…
A newly aspiring frog lover!