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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jack7" data-source="post: 5199764" data-attributes="member: 54707">Some time ago I turned my land into a private game and wildlife preserve. a lot of animals live and make their home on my lands now cause they know they won't be hunted and it's safe, and they know they're welcome. So we got a lot of all different kinds of wildlife, and me and the kids have even been building some habitats for some of the critters.We've got a lot of deer, coons, possum, snakes (long as they aren't copperheads or rattlers or cottonmouths they are welcome), lizards of various kinds, squirrels, rabbits and so forth. I think we got a brown fox too. I also keep places for various spiders and certain types of insects I like to cultivate, like Praying Mantes. My Danes keep going and getting baby wild rabbits from their warrens, but they don't kill em, just tote em around in their mouths to show me they have em. Makes em real proud to have caught something and they like to show me their work. But since the rabbits are so small, only about three inches long, I'm afraid they'll kill one by accident or put one in shock so I've fortified their warrens to deter my dogs. It don't take much to shock a rabbit to death.We've also got a lot of different kinds of fowl. Owls, cardinals, water fowl, blue-jays, cranes to the south near the river, all kinds of birds. About an hour before dark tonight I walked out to the east field and saw two huge and very beautiful hawks a'mating. That pleases me as I know they are probably nesting on my lands, but on the other hand it bothers me too. Last season we had a Cooper's Hawk in the west woods who practically annihilated my cardinal and blue-jay population. Especially the really nice and bright male cardinals I had fattened up on dry dog food and table scraps. Once I figured out that he was killing off all of my cardinals I went out and shot in his direction with my revolver several times to try and scare him off. Eventually he left but not before I thought it would be several seasons before I had any new cardinals. But this year I got four couples so far.I like tracking animals and I like watching em and photographing them. My kids do too.So aside from my fears about what the hawks may do to some of the other critters this little project is going really well.I hope to entice some beavers farther inland onto my property as well. See if they'll squat here.It's a long shot, but worth a try.Wouldn't mind a small keep to himself bear either, long as it was just one of em.</blockquote>

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