Procrastination...it's not always a bad thing.

[magical thyme]

I've been intending to ride my pony since 11am. Given the time of year, my work schedule, and the weather report for the next 10 days, it's likely to be my last ride until either there's enough snow to ride on or next spring. So naturally, given the significance -- last year's last ride of the season ended ignominiously with me eating dirt when my pony decided to show her world class talent as a rodeo bronc-busting maniac -- plus the fact that I had a painful little bubble of gas of unknown origin working its way through my gut, I've managed to procrastinate 2 hours by instead hanging out in DU.

And then I saw the clock and said gotta get to it...only to spot our new resident, the fisher cat, hanging out in the middle of my riding pasture. Aaack. That was 15 or so minutes ago and it's still just hanging out there. Dahli is keeping an eye out -- she grazes, then lifts her head and stares at it, then grazes again.

So my procrastination saved me from having my last ride of the season turn into a bronc or bolt-fest when the pony spied or heard the fisher cat sneaking through the woods. And for that I am very grateful.

Procrastination has been replaced by eating lunch. The %$#@$%!!!! fisher cat does not seem to be going anywhere...

[treestar]

1. what's a fisher cat?

[magical thyme]

2. weasel family, and very aggressive persistant predator

They normally only go after smaller vermin, but also take a fair number of cats and small dogs. Their favorite meal item is porcupine -- they even can eat the quills. They kill them by attacking their faces repeatedly for up to half an hour.

I've only spotted them a couple times in the past, but this one moved in this fall and has been living off the bounty of my apple orchard.

I'm worried because this behavior seems very abnormal. They're normally shy and stay in the woods. It's still in my upper pasture. It's moved around some, so I know it's alive, but it appears to be napping there.

Wondering now if maybe it has rabies due to its abnormal behavior.

[treestar]

3. interesting, thanks!

I know so little of such things, I thought it was an ordinary cat. It does sound like a concern; maybe animal control can figure it out. Unless you don't mind feeding it apples!

[magical thyme]

4. it turned out it's a porcupine

A threat to my silly dogs, but nobody else. When it stopped moving at all, I headed up to see if it was alive (from a safe distance). I threw an apple at it, which bounced along and rolled past it. That woke it up and it puffed out it's quills and waddled off. A couple more apple tosses and it went back to the woods.

I'm thinking maybe it was drunk on fermented apples. I know the birds get drunk from them, so I guess a porcupine could too.