Hummingbirds, Porcupine encounters and stuff..

[danc]

The third weekend in August usually means I'm somewhere on Lake Nipigon. But this year I had too many prior commitments. A 50th birthday party for a very good friend on Friday and a wood splitting party today for my father in law kept me home. I took the cameras with me today for the wood splitting event. My father in law lives in a rural area in a beautiful log cabin on a large river. You never know what you'll see out there. He has several hummingbird feeders around the yard so I'm always trying to get some decent photos of them. I took these right out of his kitchen window from about 3 feet away. I was so close that I actually used my macro mode for these shots.

 

 

 

So on with the wood splitting. Thank the Lord for modern day wood splitters. We went through 8 cords of birch today. I had my two Border Collies out there with me today. At one point I heard a commotion with the dogs and went to see what was going on. I found my oldest Border, Sarah, and my father in laws Schnauzer, Tuffie, having it out with a Porcupine. Not what I wanted to see. Sarah got a nose full of quills and Tuffie got a dozen or so in his back leg. I've never had to deal with removing Porcupine quills before. I couldn't believe how deep they were and how difficult they were to pull out. I felt sorry for my old girl, but I hope that she learned a lesson. Knowing her, she probably didn't.

 

 

Other than that, I played around with the negative mode on my camera. It's a fun feature. This is an old camera that I recently had repaired and I'm really enjoying using it again.

 

 

Next weekend I'll be on Nipigon. I hope that I don't run into any more Porcupines while I'm there.

[ccmtcanada]

Dan....awesome picture as usual! You scared the bejeezus out of me with that last pic...I thought the snow was coming...LOL

 

We had a neighbour with a siberian husky who had the exact same thing happen...after a trip to the vet she was as good as new. Hope the removal went smoothly!!

[Dondorfish]

Awsome pictures Dan - Love the hummingbird pictures!

 

 

Don

[fatherof3]

great shots. The hummingbird ones are cool. Hope your pups are ok

[Deano]

Great shots Dan, I'm always out and about with my dogs ands that is one of the things on my mind. So far I've had the dogs tied or on the bikes when I've encountered any porcupines. Also saw many bears but have been lucky also. Hoping to stay that way. Must of been a little tough getting those out, had to pull a hook out of my dogs lip once, not a easy task.

[Joey]

Wonderful pictures Dan. The hummingbirds are so neat.

 

Sorry about the dogs, but as you said, hope they learned their lesson That's gotta smart !!

 

Joey

[danc]

The quill removal went fine. Someone that was there said to cut them first with a pair of scissors, to deflate them. Apparently it lets the air out of them and they are easier to pull out. It still took a good yank with a pair of pliers to remove them though. The quills have barbs on them that flatten out on entry and open up on removal. Kind of like a fish hook. Nature is an incredible thing. Sarah just laid there like a trooper and let me pull them out one by one. She's fine now.

[Mike the Pike]

Ouch to the dog Dan,thanks for the pics and like Cliff said At first I also thought it was snow in the last pic.

 

MTP

[OhioFisherman]

Great pictures again Dan! Never saw a porcupine, don`t think they have them around here. Dad and my brother stopped one time on an island on the Georgian and helped a lady whose dog had tangled with one and had a face full of quills. Don`t know what would be worse, that or a skunk, less damage from a skunk I guess.

[Whopper]

Good pics Dan!

[Greencoachdog]

All excellent pics Dan!!!

 

The last one reminds me of Christmas.

[motv8tr]

Excellent Pictures Dan, as always. I'm glad your pup is going to be ok, but I doubt she's learned her lesson. Over the years my Malamute/Border Collies cross, along with the other two have tangled with three porcupines And yes Paul, a porcupine is much worse than a skunk...or at least I think so. Dan, just keep an eye out for really small quills that can work their way through the body. I pulled a couple out of Skylars chin after he got a mouth full about three months after the fact.

 

Maureen

[Roy]

Love the pics Dan but dang that looks painful for poor Sarah.

[JFR]

love the pics, been there done that with the quills. Years ago my schnauzer had an encounter with one, took a while to find and remove all quills. I find these incidents quite funny at times, the dogs never learn.

 

Thanks for sharing

[Basskicker]

Hey Dan, real nice pics.

 

A word of advice on the porcupine quills. MAKE SURE you get every last one.....infection can set in. My buddies dog nearly had to be put down, he didn't remove ALL of them and the dog ended up with a serious infection. A hard lesson learned for both parties and COSTLY when he got the bill from the vet. Better safe then sorry.

 

Jason

[Terry]

great pictures

 

poor dog...ouch

[Photoz]

As usual, GRRRRRRREAT shots . . . . the ol' 'Heinz 57' that I grew up with was 14 years old before he learned NOT to bite porcupines, and to stay outta range of their tail!! I swear the quills we pulled outta him woulda filled a bushel basket! That's gotta be one of the best 'hummer' shots I've seen . . . very pretty l'il bird. I'm slowly figuring out how to set my new H2 . . . I find the book VERY poorly written & illustrated . . . still haven't figured out how to change the ISO, or most of the other stuff. But, it's a much better (sharper, cleaner & quicker) focus than the Monolta A2. Thanks again for the warning about the H9 . . . I'm very happy with what I got. I think Staples are down to their last few H2's at $330.00 + memory stick & taxes . . . helluva buy!

[danc]

Thanks all for the comments and the concern for Sarah. I did find two more quills in her bottom jaw after posting last night. They were almost buried with only about 1/8" of the quill showing. She seems just fine today. I'll keep checking her for a couple of weeks at least.

 

Glad to hear that you're enjoying the camera Photoz. Half the fun of a new camera is learning how to use it. Enjoy it!!