Funny you shoulda said that, because... (okay, I really hope my wife isn't reading this. If you are, you may want to skip this one.)
I was walking the doggie near the big reservoir around midnight the other night, when I saw this long, pale, hairless tail sticking out from behind a car. It disappeared, and then I saw a pair of beady eyes in a pale furry face looking at me briefly from the other side of the car before running off through the iron gate around the reservoir.
My first thought was, "How cute! That's the first possum I've seen since I moved from the Carolinas. They look a bit smaller up here, though."
It was only later that I started thinking about it and wondered, what if it *wasn't* a small marsupial, but rather a shockingly large rodent?
I was watching "Jeopardy" this week when a reference was made to the fact that NJ had coral snakes.
Now, Barry, as a native of the South, you know better than this as do I. Corals (BTW, the deadliest of the four types of poisonous snakes in the US) are indigenous only to the South and Southeast.
Couldn't believe "Jeopardy" could make such a mistake.
Funny you said that. I was watching "House" the other night, and oddly enough I think *they* had a passing reference to coral snakes being in NJ (or maybe it was PA.) Anyway I, like you, didn't think they lived this far north.
New Jersey definitely does not have coral snakes. Copperheads and timber rattlers, yes, but I have no idea where they got that. We do have milk snakes in the western part of the state, but they're the type that mimic copperheads, not coral snakes.
We have plenty of possums here in NJ, Barry. Just keep your eyes trained on the shoulder next time you're on the highway.
Yes, there are possums in NJ and Roger is right about the tiber rattlesnakes, years ago, my co-worker had an almost too-close encounter with one up on the trail to Sun Fish pond at the Delaware Water Gap.
My NJ backyard visitors included possums, raccoons, squirrels and ground hogs.
"In the late-spring and early summer, homeowners often notice large, black bees hovering around the outside of their homes. These are probably carpenter bees searching for mates and favorable sites to construct their nests."
We've had a bunch of carpenter bees trying to make a nest in our new home, burrowing into the cedar fascia boards, the bastards!!!! They have been exterminated.
I also saw that HOUSE episode last night, and went HUH? when they mentioned coral snakes in NewJersey. however the Encyclopedia Britannica(sp?) web site, which I did not join for the free trial, indicates coral snakes CAN be found as far north as NJ. News to me, I will check with the [i]Audubon Field Guide to Reptiles[/i] book I have at home this evening.
Comments
You wanted to live in the wilderness of New Jersey...
Just wait until the giant, tailless rats start going through your garbage cans! I saw them on the news. Gigantic...kinda cute though.
Posted by: withoutfeathers | May 19, 2005 09:38 AM
Giant rats, huh?
Funny you shoulda said that, because... (okay, I really hope my wife isn't reading this. If you are, you may want to skip this one.)
I was walking the doggie near the big reservoir around midnight the other night, when I saw this long, pale, hairless tail sticking out from behind a car. It disappeared, and then I saw a pair of beady eyes in a pale furry face looking at me briefly from the other side of the car before running off through the iron gate around the reservoir.
My first thought was, "How cute! That's the first possum I've seen since I moved from the Carolinas. They look a bit smaller up here, though."
It was only later that I started thinking about it and wondered, what if it *wasn't* a small marsupial, but rather a shockingly large rodent?
Posted by: Barry N. Johnson | May 19, 2005 09:53 AM
Do they even have possums in New Jersey?
Posted by: Bob Plyler | May 19, 2005 11:26 AM
I was watching "Jeopardy" this week when a reference was made to the fact that NJ had coral snakes.
Now, Barry, as a native of the South, you know better than this as do I. Corals (BTW, the deadliest of the four types of poisonous snakes in the US) are indigenous only to the South and Southeast.
Couldn't believe "Jeopardy" could make such a mistake.
Posted by: mal | May 19, 2005 10:59 PM
Funny you said that. I was watching "House" the other night, and oddly enough I think *they* had a passing reference to coral snakes being in NJ (or maybe it was PA.) Anyway I, like you, didn't think they lived this far north.
Posted by: Barry N. Johnson | May 19, 2005 11:30 PM
New Jersey definitely does not have coral snakes. Copperheads and timber rattlers, yes, but I have no idea where they got that. We do have milk snakes in the western part of the state, but they're the type that mimic copperheads, not coral snakes.
We have plenty of possums here in NJ, Barry. Just keep your eyes trained on the shoulder next time you're on the highway.
Posted by: Roger | May 20, 2005 08:08 AM
You're right, Barry and I was wrong. It WAS House, not Jeopardy. I started mumbling about that which ticked off my wife (as usual!)
Posted by: mal | May 20, 2005 11:07 AM
That's a relief! I was beginning to think we were experiencing an epidemic of network misinformation about coral snakes in New Jersey. :-)
Posted by: Barry N. Johnson | May 20, 2005 11:14 AM
Yes, there are possums in NJ and Roger is right about the tiber rattlesnakes, years ago, my co-worker had an almost too-close encounter with one up on the trail to Sun Fish pond at the Delaware Water Gap.
My NJ backyard visitors included possums, raccoons, squirrels and ground hogs.
Posted by: Mlv | May 20, 2005 08:49 PM
oh, and I think the bee might be a carpenter bee
Posted by: Mlv | May 20, 2005 08:50 PM
Add foxes to the list of mammals to look out for in New Jersey.
Posted by: Roger | May 20, 2005 11:57 PM
I have no idea if this is true or not? But I've seen bees that big and someone told me that it was a honey bee.
Posted by: K | May 21, 2005 12:09 PM
Honey bees aren't that big and fuzzy, and they have striped abdomens:
http://images.google.com/images?q=honey+bee&hl=en&lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N&tab=ii&oi=imagest
Posted by: Roger | May 21, 2005 07:00 PM
"In the late-spring and early summer, homeowners often notice large, black bees hovering around the outside of their homes. These are probably carpenter bees searching for mates and favorable sites to construct their nests."
http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entomology/entfacts/struct/ef611.htm
We've had a bunch of carpenter bees trying to make a nest in our new home, burrowing into the cedar fascia boards, the bastards!!!! They have been exterminated.
Posted by: Mlv | May 21, 2005 10:44 PM
I also saw that HOUSE episode last night, and went HUH? when they mentioned coral snakes in NewJersey. however the Encyclopedia Britannica(sp?) web site, which I did not join for the free trial, indicates coral snakes CAN be found as far north as NJ. News to me, I will check with the [i]Audubon Field Guide to Reptiles[/i] book I have at home this evening.
Posted by: Chilao | December 6, 2006 12:34 PM