Open Thread – Porcupine
One of Alaska’s most under-rated members of the animal kingdom – the humble porcupine. Hard to hug, but easy to love.
December 19, 2024
Thursday, August 3, 2023
The Quitter Returns! -Monday, March 21, 2022
Putting the goober in gubernatorial -Friday, January 28, 2022
One of Alaska’s most under-rated members of the animal kingdom – the humble porcupine. Hard to hug, but easy to love.
D@mn I’m happy to find this nice, clean, wildlife & general mudpup love topic on the blog! The palin uterus peeps were creeping me out on the other threads. There are many problems to face and much to be done, but there is great comfort in the company of friends and fellow travellers.
Just BTW, I had the good fortune to grow up with foxes, snakes, skunks, porcupines, frogs, deer, racoons, other critters and tadpoles. I learned early how to move the copperheads from their sunning spots on our front steps back into the woods. Safely, never bitten, from childhood. Never thought to kill them instead.
I also learned to wash my dogs in tomato sauce, I’m sorry to say, because the stupid critters harassed a skunk. 🙁 That smell is gawdawful!!!
.gosh yes. i was so sad and hurt by them. some were Mudpups at one time and left us for parts unknown now i hardly recognize them. so sad.
bubbles, I felt the same way. Sad.
“…I could a tale unfold whose lightest word
Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood,
Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres,
Thy knotted and combined locks to part
And each particular hair to stand on end,
Like quills upon the fretful porpentine:”
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/hamlet.1.5.html
I have had a few run-ins with porcupines. They are interesting animals in the sense that they have no real fear of anything. Once a friend and I came upon a large porky on the east slope of the Flatirons outside Boulder Co. It bristled up to about twice its calm volume and slowly toddled over to a pile of rocks and deadwood, stuck its head inside and presented an imposing array of razor sharp quills.
I also recall having to drive a friends Akita down to the vet in town in a blizzard because the idiot dog had tangled with a porky and had around 200 quills in his lips and jaws, and around his eyes.
To the best of my knowledge there are no documented reports of anyone being attacked by a porcupine. I almost tripped over one walking in the woods at night without a head lamp or flashlight.
Fortunately they make a bit of noise when they waddle.
No one will notice this comment.
I always notice your comments if I’m here!
We both have long names.
of course someone noticed 🙂
I watched a mama porkie chastise and corral an errant baby porkie one evening after dark a couple years ago.
In all the years I’ve crossed paths with them in the woods and chased them out of my garden, I had never realized they made sounds before. Mama squeaked/ chittered at baby who kept turning round and heading back the way they had come. She got right up baby’s face and gave some kind of squeaky lecture which resulted in baby moving in direction mama wanted and they waddled on down the street.
Neighbor I was chatting with and I laughed so hard we couldn’t talk. I try hard not to anthropomorphize critters but that exchange was so familar to anyone who has ever had a dressing down by their ma …
i noticed your comment Krobu. i been gone for awhile and am not able to heart you but heart you i do.
i have not yet met a porkypine which is probably for the best.
i am on my way to South Bass Island on Lake Erie then later we will go find our friends who are camping in Mohican State Park. i might get to meet one somewhere along the way.
Have a wonderful time bubbles and your family also too. 😀
Yes bubbles, have a wonderful time and say hello to daughter and sil from me!
I am another whose dog was quilled daily for almost a week. This was probably the dumbest dog on the planet. Daily? We ended up trapping the critter and moving him far away to a different wood. Dog pranced around for days because he figured he’d subdued the thing.
KN ! I “see” you too!
just amazed at how Moma Porkie can be so caring after delivering such a prickly baby !! ( yes, I know the quills are soft during delivery…but still… ooowww!!! )
Okay folks,let’s all cheer up. Now gather round we are gonna have us some fun with Joe McG and the Limbo Rock Book. Hey Joe, How low can you go? Hooow Looow can you goooo?
We need a new paradigm for the limbo, where the goal is to crawl on one’s belly. Joe would be a champion.
I love all you Mudpups,where ever you are.
♥
(I stole that from beth 🙂 )
Hey! Give Beth her heart back!
Hey, Slip, how’s life treating you? Wishing you the best, even tho you are not a cat person.
♥ You knew I was just going to have to try that. 🙂 ♥
Well, it was the first day of school for the kiddies today and it appeared to be a success.
For those of us who work in elementary education, the standards of ‘success’ for the opening day of school are pretty low, especially in the primary grades. The first day of kindergarten can be a particularly challenging experience as we try to separate the apprehensive children from their equally apprehensive parents who are then firmly shooed out the front door.
Today, we didn’t have any dramatic sobbing or peed-in pants. At least among the kids.
The staff, on the other hand…
My mother taught kindy for 42 years! First weeks were tough.
Did you read this piece in the NY Times the other day? The comments are interesting, also, too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/29/opinion/republicans-against-science.html
DD
Ken Morris is in the news today —
http://www.adn.com/2011/09/02/2045846/co-author-considering-lawsuit.html
Something about a possible lawsuit over a leaked manuscript.
Thanks Slip. The final sentence of the article gives a pretty clear snapshot of life in rethug/korporate amerika.
This will make you smile!!!!!!
Magnificient !!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=SkY03n0_sD8&vq=medium
Yes it did thanks
That was wonderful.
What stunning images! And the baby hitching a ride on Daddy’s(?) feet made me cry.
I think that Palin at this week end Tea Party assemblies will
announce that if the Republicans do not elect a conservative
candidate she will run as a Tea Party independent. This gives
her power with out running and leaves it open that she can run
as an independent Tea Party candidate if they elect Romney. I think
that Perry might be acceptable . My predication.
Is there time for her to do that? I’m fuzzy about when different states have to have names on the ballot. The Republican Convention is in August 2012. When do they vote on their choice, isn’t it then? That only gives her a couple of months to announce. Of course, that maybe is what she wants – not to have to spend all the time between now and Nov ’12 campaigning. Also, she can still keep her job at FOX and making big bucks until she does actually declares. Who knows what this gal is thinking?
I think you missed my point. I believe she will run either as an Independent that only requires
her to announce as a candidate or create a new party called the Tea Party; if she creates
a new party I think she can’t register in all the states until November( not sure of the date)
There are already Tea Parties in both Florida and I believe Nevada. If those parties garnered
1% of the votes in the 2010 election they can expand to national party. I don;t think she will
ever try to get the Republican nomination. I don;t believe she wants to be president she
just wants to be infamous (and rich with no need to work).
You explalined a lot – thanks! I didn’t know there was a bona fide Tea Party “party” in 2 states, where folks could actually run on that ticket. I need to brush up on dates, qualifications, etc.
Isn’t it absolutely sickening that this ignorant woman can hold so much power in American politics. If Nicole Wallace and Schmidt etc have any regard for the Republican party, they need to fess up now and put a stop to Palin once and for all before she creates untold damage.
Good afternoon mudflats kith and kin. Sucky, Sucky week here. Had a crazy lady go off on me in the store claiming I contaminated her paint when the lid slipped on me and my finger went into the bucket. Rerun, one of my cats passed away on Tuesday and I found him in the litter box of all places and yesterday was the one year anniversary of my Dad’s passing. Today is my one day off this week so I am trying to relax a little. Doing a little weeding in the garden. It looks awful right now. I’ve had to neglect it for the sake of overtime.
Last night I had a nice long soak in the tub with some epsom salts and lavender oil. That really helped me sleep. 🙂 woke up feeling much better today. Wish I had thought of that a while ago.
AKM, I know what you and Ken are going to be writing about is important for us all to know. I’m not surprised in the least that your site has been under attack. It takes a lot of courage to speak the truth sometimes so I just want to say I appreciate it and remember to keep yer powder dry!
I hope you enjoy your weekend, dearie, especially the holiday Monday. I’m sorry about your cat, the crazy lady at work and feeling down about your Dad. It probably seems like it’s all piling on, doesn’t it? I understand the feeling. I hope your garden cheers you up and reminds you of all the lovely memories made with kitty and Dad…..and forget all the crazy lady =D
All my best, dear and big hugs!
Thank you for your kind words. I wish I had a holiday weekend to enjoy, however I must work. Holiday weekends are mandatory work days. Christmas was the last holiday I had off and that was only because the store was closed. Our store is shutting down so we are having a store closing sale before the actual liquidation. Weekends are one long black Friday. I got paid an extra $120 in over time this paycheck and I have fleas in the house. Cost for all the frontline for the dogs and cats? $120. Yes it certainly piled on this week. I was going to weed and took a nap instead. I can’t begin to tell you how tired I feel. Like I need massive quantities of iron. What’s up with that?
I haven’t had a bath in years! 🙂
Glad you’re feeling better today.
Irish, honey, you know I just love you, but do you really want to let the world know how long it’s been since you had a bath.
*passing some of merrycrickets lavender oil and epson salts your way.
ROFL!
(seriously she is perfectly clean folks) 🙂
Lol and the outside hose is broken!
I See Villages gave me soap last year in DC. I plan to use it soon!
It’s Ireland, where it rains a lot…. just stand outside for a bit, and take the shampoo and soap with you…
Your comment and the responses crack me up! Now that I’ve lived in an Asian community for yonks, I have a different opinion about baths than during my east coast years of bubble baths. Showering is cleansing, sitting in a bath (full of dirtied water) is not. It’s a cultural thing…. If one is going to soak in a lovely bath, it is only after a cleansing shower. At least where I live now.
Gotta love diversity!
“FALL OF THE HOUSE OF MURDOCH XVIII: Gordon Brown has tape of NI hacking; Rupert and James’ Pay Bonus”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/09/02/1012866/-FALL-OF-THE-HOUSE-OF-MURDOCH-XVIII:-Gordon-Brown-has-tape-of-NI-hacking;-Rupert-and-James-Pay-Bonus?via=siderec
what’s that? faintly at first, I am hearing with each new revelation, ….. why, it’s the theme from the movie “Jaws”
couldn’t happen to a more deserving skulk
What a cute little thing. He looks like a throwback to the 80’s.
This photo brings back memories of porcupine encounters by my long gone but very loved dogs of my youth. The little devils would hide under the shed from those pesky long-nosed canines and let ‘er rip when they got too close. Ah! The howls and the many hours with the long-nosed pliers.
I still think porkies are darn cute.
You may be interested to learn that the porcupine shows up in Shakespeare (I forget which play) as “the fretful porpentine”. Porkies are strictly New World animals, and that world was extremely new when Shakespeare was writing. Porpentines must have gotten a lot of early attention!
It’s from the first act of Hamlet, where he’s talking about being so frightened that his hair stands on end, like the fretful porpentine.. Sounds much nicer than “quill pig”.
Yeah,someone might have actually named it “prickly beaver”. Wouldn’t that be a hoot?
Methinks that unless yon Mikey himself wins mention with the Bard, he hath no right to wax snarky about those that doth.
Forsooth, Mag!
Okay, now I am losing patience. I have tried so very hard to be understanding over the past three years, knowing that change takes time. I am aware and appreciative of the many, many things that President Obama has been able to get changed against almost overwhelming odds, but now I am beginning to get a bit ticked-off. Messing with environment is one area where I have little patience.
Read the following first two paragraphs of a piece by writers Pace and Capellielo:
“President Barack Obama on Friday sacked a controversial proposed regulation tightening health-based standards for smog, bowing to the demands of congressional Republicans and some business leaders.
“Obama overruled the Environmental Protection Agency and directed administrator Lisa Jackson to withdraw the proposal, in part because of the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and uncertainty for businesses at a time of rampant uncertainty about an unsteady economy.”
Then, you have what I regard as an insult because it is praise (thought “muted”) from the Speaker of the House.” Note the phrase “a good first step toward” deregulating industry. Yikes! Give those suckers an inch and they will stretch it out to a mile. Sorry for my language, but I am steamed.
“A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, had muted praise for the White House, saying that withdrawal of the smog regulation was a good first step toward removing obstacles that are blocking business growth.”
The article lists a number of moves our President is making in a run-up to 2012 to placate business and the GOP in what I can only guess is a hope to jobs jump-started. We all know how well that strategy works, right?
We’ve had ozone alerts here in the KC-metro area for the past three days, meaning that people should alter their normal routines (drive less, not run mowers, etc,) and those with asthma or respiratory problems or heart disease are being told to stay indoors.
Read the article if you still go to HuffPo. I bet you will be disappointed and ticked-off as well.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/02/obama-halts-epa-regulation-smog-standards_n_946557.html
It sure didn’t make my day either. WTH? Are they holding him hostage in the WH? I agree, the environment has no voice. It must depend on us.
We are shitting in our nest so somebody can have a job? What a complete lack of imagination.
Two things, AKM:
(1) I strongly suspect you have a malware infestation at your server. Good luck.
(2) If you like porcupines, you’ve clearly never had one chew up your cabin. Or spend the night chewing on floor joists when you are trying to sleep. Or spent an instructive evening pulling quills out of your dog’s muzzle and mouth. Quill pigs have their charms, but they are no charming.
/WC
Okay, just saw the comforting (protective) but frustrating (due to my error) moderation message come up. Forgot the last letter of my moniker. Just in case the comment gets deleted, I am posting it again. If it duplicates, my apologies.
I’m sorry to see so many people having trouble accessing this site. I was here late last night and again early this morning (no, it’s not so bad that I need professional help – yet). hehe
Sorry, I know running into blocks like that is not funny when it’s happening to you. Just wanted you to know that some of us are unscathed (thus far, knock on wood) in our ability to access mudflats.
BTW, great photo. Reminds me of a wig a certain part-time Faux News contributor wears from time-to-time from her base in Wasilla. Wait a sec. I am wrong. That confused look on the porcupine still makes it look too intelligent to have any nexus to Faux News. 🙂 Sorry, once snark gets into the bloodstream, it is very difficult to eradicate.
I’m sorry to see so many people having trouble accessing this site. I was here late last night and again early this morning (no, it’s not so bad that I need professional help – yet). hehe
Sorry, I know running into blocks like that is not funny when it’s happening to you. Just wanted you to know that some of us are unscathed (thus far, knock on wood) in our ability to access mudflats.
BTW, great photo. Reminds me of a wig a certain part-time Faux News contributor wears from time-to-time from her base in Wasilla. Wait a sec. I am wrong. That confused look on the porcupine still makes it look too intelligent to have any nexus to Faux News. 🙂 Sorry, once snark gets into the bloodstream, it is very difficult to eradicate.
Noticed the malware warning myself and been checking into it.
I seem to have isolated it for now.
Not sure where its come from but still looking.
..
A universe-full of ♥ and Thanks! @ you, maint! beth.
We just knew you’d get it fixed! How we wish you could trace it back to whomever caused the problem (if it was an “attack” of some sort, i.e.). Sure is nice to know AKM has top-notch guardians.
Ok, I’m sure its been isolated and fixed.
No idea on the origin but it was well hidden.
2am here so I’m now off to bed, will check in when I wake up to check it’s still ok.
Enjoy!
I heart maint! Thanks for being on it.
Good for you!! Thanks Maint.
Getting a “malware warning” when I access this site…. are you under cyber attack?
What’s up with that?
Someone doesn’t want you to post about Sister Sarah anymore?
Good morning, all. I’m off to the wilds of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and will return later. Health and peace.
Where in the Burg? My old stomping grounds. Born, raised & grew up there. 🙂
Grand St. Lorimer St. station, and a couple blocks walk.
If you are lost in the wilderness and you have no food to survive and a porcupine comes by, catch it, skin it and roast it over an open fire. Mild tasting meat, almost like chicken with a pine tree flavor.
thanks,before I get lost in the wilderness I’ll bake a chicken in Pine-Sol and see what awaits me.
Better than that, we’ll send you some Spruce-Tip jelly from Ester, Alaska, along with some Spruce-Tip Brew along with a Spruce Hen Roadkill.
That’s some good eatin’ – – –
I was nodding and smiling and sayin “yeah…!” right up to the Spruce Hen Roadkill.
We’ve got lots of spruce here in Southeast, a fair amount of roadkill, even with our limited road system, but Spruce Hen? 🙂
I’m guessing Hooters, Pi, hooters (Spruce Grouse). Can’t you hear them in the spring from your house? We can from ours.
oh!
duh!
yup- can hear them for weeks in the spring and early summer..
thanks!
I’m not sure,but what you might be pulling Mikey’s leg. It seems that with some Alaskan’s taste buds you’d do well as food editor/critics for Guns and Ammo magazine.
might be a bit difficult skinning with all those quills, I ‘ve read it’s easier to clean it and roast with the quills on… they smell like burnt hair as they burn off, but least they’re not poking you…
All kidding aside,why does looking at a porkypine remind me so much of a certain family from Wasilla? Not only is it slow and dimwitted,but they seem to be relatively unconcerned for anyone except themselves. Criticism doesn’t appear to phase them. they don’t seem to bothered by their personal appearance. They are single-minded in pursuit of necessities in life. You might believe that the grown-ups are as lovable as the young ones and find out there all prickly and bad-humored. They won’t fight mano-y-mano,they’ll lull you into a sense of passive resistance then blast you from your blindside with a tail full of quills. Not only do you get the pain of rejection,you also have visible reminders of pain that lingers long after initial contact and require professional help to make it better. With quill pigs make sure you keep Neatsfoot Oil and a pair of gloves and pliers handy.That is all.
There is a small adult bronze colored porkie in my neighborhood this year. ( There are always porkies in my neighborhood)
It has damaged my razzies( the canes which bear fruit next year are a special porkie delight ), munched my lettuce greens, stomped my poppies, and flattened my snow-on-the-mountain.
I do not love this porkie.
I fight an enormous battle with myself daily to keep from doing something awful to this porkie.
I am digging through my books in hopes of finding my old copy of E B White’s Racoon Tree essay .
I have hopes it will help me regain my composure and perspective as regards critters-who-just-wanna-live.
I do not like how ticked I am at this porkie…
Get a helper, corner the little guy, have the porkie walk onto a board, dump the porkie into a big box, load the box into a car, drive it about 5 miles away, dump the porkie out of the box and maybe it won’t make it’s way back until next year. They are slow walkers.
Oh, with you on disliking the neighborhood porkies. We’ve seen two on our game cam. They’ve wrecked my raspberries AGAIN! I know friends down the street transplanted at least one down to the end of the road last month, but there are still some around. Have you seen the wrecked rasp. patch on 5th?
The one above Rainbow?
Razzie carnage extraordinaire there!
Some neighbors up here, also too ,relocated a couple of the lil boogers out the road.
Am thinking this lil #%^$$^ needs to find peace and happiness somewhere out past Amalga too…
Hope everything is OK for AKM and Alaskan mudpups – saw there was earthquake there….7.1 apparently? Yikes….also, last night, when I tried to load Mudflats, I kept getting a message that there was malware on th site and was denied access. Hope all is well. Keeping you all in my prayers today.
Don’t know what’s going on with your website, but this is the 3rd time I’ve clicked onto this site and it’s caused my virus program to “block an intrusion” from this site.
Risk Name: Web Attack: Blackhole Toolkit Activity 15
Attacking Computer: biokandallo.cu.cc (95.163.66.184,80)
Attacker URL: biokandallo.cu.cc/showthread.php?t=99471258
Destination Address: My computer of course
Source Address 95.163.66.84 (95.63.33.184)
Traffic Description: TCP, www-http
This is the first time I’ve ever encountered any problems from this website.
Tks,
GypsyGirl
having similar issue here since last night…
I did too, last night and again early this a.m. Good to get on now!
I am also receiving the same intrusion attempt when accessing The Mudflats. It started last night.
Still can not access via my iPhone.
I had the Block come up way late last night (4am EDT) and this morning…I use AVG anti-virus. The Block didn’t even give me the option of continuing — it flat Blocked the site. (Had to sneak in thru the wordpress ’emergency’ site this morning…)
Seems to be working fine, now, though. Don’t know what the Behind-the-Scene-ers have done in the past 20-or-so minutes, but it worked!
A gazillion “Thank Yous” and tons of ♥ to all the Behind-the-Scene-ers! You rock! beth.
It’s the Devil, trying to get AKM’s attention and make her stop publishin’ truths and goin’ after his unscrupulous minions.
Okay. So I just got back on and no more Virus-Pop-Up blocker.
Hopefully it’s been fixed.
Heh…. that IP address says it originates in Russia. Could it be Putin rearing his ugly head?
Oh wait, the second one, in parentheses, says Madrid, Spain… who do we know there?
might be a typo. There is a Madrid in Iowa,no Spaniards that I am aware of.
Anyone else unable to get here via iPhone? Home page comes up, loads, and immediately disappears leaving a screen with a long, long line of something or other with “Denied” in front of each. Strange day. Maybe that porcupine chewed on a cable?
Whew, the National Weather Service cancels tusunami warning at 3:57 ADT:
…THE TSUNAMI WARNING IS CANCELED FOR THE COASTAL AREAS OF
ALASKA FROM UNIMAK PASS ALASKA/80 MILES NE OF DUTCH HARBOR/
TO AMCHITKA PASS ALASKA/125 MILES W OF ADAK/…
http://www.arh.noaa.gov/zonefcst.php?zone=185
Ot but I see you guy up there got hit wil a 7.1 quake
All is well?
7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Alaska
Tsunami warning issued for Aleutian Islands
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44370205/ns/us_news-environment/
Stay safe everyone.
Paraphrasing a phrase from Bachmann – It must be Gawd getting Alaskans’s attention about the TeaParty Cruise……
hahahahaha caw Caw CAW!!!
All my relations!
Brother and Sister Porcupine always bring a smile
…unless we’re removing quills from
curious creatures who got too up-close and personal!
Even saying “porcupine” makes me smile.
porcupine 🙂
porcupine 🙂
porcupine 🙂
What a week.
Writers
*wrapping my wings around AKM*
and weasels
and that washed-out-wastrel-will-she-or-won’t-she.
Friday in the forest, and thanks to the Union brothers and sisters who came before me, I have a paid holiday on Monday. Already raining here from the tropical something in the Gulf. The forest is extremely dry and well out of the flood zone, so we’ll welcome all the rain that falls here.
I’ve got plenty to do over a rainy long weekend.
Today, I am so thankful to be alive. It was 20-some years ago today that I almost died on my way home from work, t-boned by a drunk driver on the highway. No airbags then, but my seatbelt and the local EMTs saved my life. Let the record show that yes, I’m still swimming/walking/flying and yes, I Did bring Littlebird into this world, and yes, DH Happy and I Are Living Happily and Thankfully Ever After.
Stormy weather.
…and porcupines.
🙂
L’Shalom,
thatcrowwoman
All of us are grateful to those EMTs and that seatbelt, not only for the reasons you list, but also because you grace this community with kindness and wisdom. A day to rejoice indeed!
Amen to that!
After all you have been through,how could anyone be happy? (not serious)
You’ll really smile if you ever see a porcupine Swim!
awwww!