With the arrival of June, it’s time to look out for those wild babies again.
With warm weather back, we might see babies along the roads, in the woods and fields and even in our yards at times. They are so adorable; you just might be tempted to pick one up and bring it home.
Don’t.
Even if the mother doesn’t seem to be around, she probably is watching you. Young animals that appear abandoned are not usually alone. Unless the youngster is obviously injured, or brought home by one of your own pets, they shouldn’t be touched or removed from their natural environment.
The Department of natural Resources wildlife experts cite a variety of problems when people bring wild creatures’ home in what people might consider is an act of mercy.
Wild animals can carry a variety of serious diseases like distemper and even rabies. It is also extremely difficult for those animals – deer, raccoons, rabbits – to survive when they are eventually released back into the wild after being raised by humans.
Wild animals just do not make good pets. In many cases, especially if they are endangered or game animals, it is also illegal to bring them home.
If you do find an obviously injured animal, contact your local animal control agency or the DNR office. There are authorized agencies in Michigan that specialize in first aid and rehabilitation services for wild animals.
Now, with Memorial Weekend just past, the summer season is really here, although the calendar says it will be a ten more days ‘til the official beginning. We have already had summer weather at least for part of May. Unusual in this part of Michigan, but I’m not complaining.
With all the rain we have been “enjoying” lately, everything is growing like mad. Especially our little plot of grass out here at the new place. Jack has had to mow it about every third day and complains that it grows an inch every night. This week has been a little drier, only a half inch of rain or so, at least so far, but the grass is still ahead of him. It will probably grow another inch or so before he can get it cut again.
He should relax, he could be plowing snow…
Despite the need to stay home and mow or do yard work, we decided to let it grow a bit more and went up to Roscommon for the holiday weekend.
We opened and set up our camper. Everything is ready now for our summer weekend get-aways with our next trip planned for later this month.
While we were there, we did all of the usual stuff…Jack putzed around outside and I finished reading a book inside…I guess that’s really not doing much at all. Seems I am getting slower every year…wonder why that is?
Back here at home, it’s been a busy, busy time as I try to keep up with writing the weekly articles. There is certainly a lot going on around the area this year. It seems like people are making up for lost “Covid” time.
And, most of the area schools are out for the summer as of this week.
I’m sure the area kids have been counting the days, if not hours and minutes until they were finally set free for the summer. Sometimes I wish I could have the summer off like kids do. I would, especially this time of year, love to be a kid again.
Summer seems to last forever when you are a kid. You get out of school and it seems like there are months and months until you have to go back again.
There are always loads of neat things to do.
For me it was exploring in the woods, fishing, bike riding, building forts with my cousins and the summer kids in the neighborhood, playing cowboys and Indians or Tarzan in a tipped over tree down the road, baseball games in the front yard, swimming in the Au Sable and reading all of the books I could get my hands on.
Jack’s best memories are of camping trips with his folks, Aunts, Uncles, cousins and friends during the summer months.
These days, summer is still a very welcome time of year, but now it’s much briefer; a beautiful growing season of flowers, nice weather and vacation trips that only seems to last a few weeks before fall arrives again.
Jeeze Louise, the older I get the faster the seasons seem to fly right by.
I’m still going to try and make this one last as long as possible…