Animals on the line

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Robert Hammond
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Animals on the line

Post by Robert Hammond » Tue Dec 11, 2018 1:46 pm

At one stage between Here and There I was laying quite large amounts of moss, which makes quite effective scale grass, but it kept being pecked up and thrown about by one particular blackbird. I did put a sign up saying ' No blackbirds' but I can't understand why that didn't work. That winter the moss remained covered with netting, the blackbird doesn't visit any more. Since we lost our dog we have many more squirrels and a fox. Between them there are regular small bits of damage. One of the miniature cows was found in next door's garden with two legs bitten off. Today a chimney from a house has been found next to the church on the other side of the village of Here missing a pot, and the recently completed post box was between the rails a scale mile away thankfully undamaged. I have repeatedly sprayed vulnerable areas with animal repellents of different sorts. I am told that some of them contain the urine of bears, or something which smells the same. I wondered whether to pee on the garden myself, but I could get a few strange looks from neighbours. Does anyone have any ideas?

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philipy
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Re: Animals on the line

Post by philipy » Tue Dec 11, 2018 2:54 pm

Robert Hammond wrote: Tue Dec 11, 2018 1:46 pm Does anyone have any ideas?
Get another dog? :)

Seriously, apart from that, it seems strange that either squirrels or foxes would mistake a building or a plastic cow for food. We do get an occasional visit from a squirrel, which we chase off, but in reality it is far more interested in raiding peanuts from the bird feeder and I've never seen it bothering with my railway.
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Andrew
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Re: Animals on the line

Post by Andrew » Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:31 pm

Sorry, no ideas - but I'm very impressed that there are parts of your line that are a scale mile from other parts, even if it doesn't help the animal-related maintenance issues!

Good luck,

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Re: Animals on the line

Post by jim@NAL » Tue Dec 11, 2018 7:16 pm

I sprayed waterd down chilly powder to get rid of cats in my garden and this helped loads.A very old gardener who I used to help told me to chase off the squirrels from the garden and this would stop them returning.i tried this in my own garden and it actually did work.

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Re: Animals on the line

Post by invicta280 » Tue Dec 11, 2018 9:15 pm

I had a cat problem at a lock up garage that the cats used as a communal toilet. I tried 'Lion Poo' cat deterrent to no effect. I guess cats in southeast England have neither smelt or seen a lion so were unimpressed. I washed the area down with a strong bleach and water solution. They didn't like that!

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Re: Animals on the line

Post by tom_tom_go » Tue Dec 11, 2018 9:33 pm

Anyone tried befriending the cats?

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IrishPeter
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Re: Animals on the line

Post by IrishPeter » Tue Dec 11, 2018 10:35 pm

The trouble with cats is that they were venerated as gods in Egypt, and it seems to have permanently coloured their attitude to everything and everybody. We have had a bit of a cat explosion around here recently, and that has rather dented by liking for cats as when the population density is too great they do become a nuisance. When it was just 'Old Stumpy' who eats at the house behind us and sleeps under our porch it was not so bad, but now we have several more we seem to have the feline equivalent of guerrilla warfare going on.

The squirrel problem here is their penchant for knocking walnuts out of the trees. Sooner or later I am going to get one on the head. I just hope it is not from 60' up!

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Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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philipy
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Re: Animals on the line

Post by philipy » Wed Dec 12, 2018 7:58 am

tom_tom_go wrote: Tue Dec 11, 2018 9:33 pm Anyone tried befriending the cats?
We have 6 houses who's back gardens end at the side of ours. With one exception, they all have cats and with one exception they all have paved, gravelled or decked back gardens. Guess who has the nearest 'proper' gardens that the filthy animals can all use as a toilet every night?? A wife who is in remission from Leukemia does not need the toxoplasmosis she got from clearing it up. That's not to mention the birds that we encourage that they kill, plus even a baby hedgehog on one horrific occasion.
BEFRIEND them??????
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Re: Animals on the line

Post by LNR » Wed Dec 12, 2018 9:40 am

I second every thing you've said about the filthy animals Philip. I have a similar problem. It's funny councils banned horses from the streets because of the mess they left, but they won't do anything about cats doing the same thing, and it's never in their own yard.
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Re: Animals on the line

Post by Robert Hammond » Wed Dec 12, 2018 5:21 pm

Thanks for the replies folks. As for getting another dog, that is under consideration, but not purely for that purpose. My wife and I are considering our own ages, how old we will be when dog is 15, and how much more difficult it is to re- train a middle aged rescue dog. We'll see on that one. Yes, it is puzzling that such items like the cows could be mistaken for food, unless the fox is partial to beef. In addition to the missing legs the cow also had a metal spike on each leg to anchor it down. All those had also gone. The scale mile could have been an exaggeration, but at the out set I was seeking the longest run I could get so went for a spiral. At the main station the line appears to be double track, then one side inclines upwards, passes over the other side, the inclines down to meet it again on the other side, so the single track makes two circuits around the garden to return to the same place. I do generally befriend all animals, but guess what, something has dug up quite a lot of moss again, grr!

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Re: Animals on the line

Post by Keith S » Sat Dec 29, 2018 6:15 pm

I can only sympathise. My house backs onto a forested area, and I know there are animals in there, but they never used to have much interest in my back garden area.

However, a couple of my neighbours have moved away, and the woman who bought the house closest to mine has chosen to convert the basement into a walk-out flat which she lets to various seemingly itinerant young men. I do not normally support "classist" thinking, but I have noticed that the only unsavoury goings-on in my neighbourhood are committed by the tenants inhabiting the basement flats that one or two neighbours have created.

Anyway, this is relevant because the ne'er-do-well living in the basement of my neighbour's house decided it was a lot of work to haul his rubbish up the side of the house to where the bin is kept, therefore he was chucking the full bin-liners into the tiny back garden area, to the delight of the forest creatures. Now my tiny back area has become a highway for all manner of creeping, flying and slinking things. I'm pretty sure I have seen wolf footprints. Definitely foxes. The ravens have also increased their local representation. One hoodlum raven has decided it's great fun to tear bits of roofing-paper off my uncompleted shed. The foot of snow has deterred him, but I am sure he'll be back in Springtime. But yes, a wolf was spotted not far from here, so I am not surprised to see those footprints. They look the same as dog footprints, but no-one here has a dog. Foxes will play with things too. A fox stole one of my work-gloves once and I saw him playing with it, tossing it in the air and then runining around it in circles growling at it. It was funny, but I imagine this is what happened to your cow.

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Re: Animals on the line

Post by invicta280 » Sat Dec 29, 2018 7:44 pm

Foxes, squirrels, blackbirds, hedgehogs, green tree snakes and now a wolf ! Us garden railers certainly interact with the wildlife. Better than sitting indoors watching the telly.

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Re: Animals on the line

Post by IrishPeter » Sun Dec 30, 2018 2:08 am

We have a local possum who takes care of various undesirables such as ticks. Predictably, the Possum is referred to as George. even though he can't sing.

Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Animals on the line

Post by ge_rik » Sun Dec 30, 2018 9:21 am

Oh dear, not only am I a cyclist I am also a cat lover. I'd better not mention that I was once a morris dancer or everyone will hate me. :cry:

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philipy
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Re: Animals on the line

Post by philipy » Sun Dec 30, 2018 2:53 pm

Nah, I'll let you off the Morris, Rik. SWMBO was once heavily involved with a 'Side' up in the Brum area and we still go and watch from time to time.
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Re: Animals on the line

Post by IrishPeter » Sun Dec 30, 2018 3:16 pm

Well, the cycles and the cats are OK. Not so sure about the Morris Dancing - except as an excuse to consume beer.

Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Animals on the line

Post by ge_rik » Sun Dec 30, 2018 3:58 pm

IrishPeter wrote: Sun Dec 30, 2018 3:16 pm Well, the cycles and the cats are OK. Not so sure about the Morris Dancing - except as an excuse to consume beer.

Peter in Va
I knew it would be the last straw for some of you ...... sorry....... :|
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Re: Animals on the line

Post by IrishPeter » Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:06 pm

I should be fairly sympathetic to Morris given that I have an admiration for Percy Dearmer, Conrad Noel, and the whole Primrose Hill/Thaxted thing. Noel, and IIRC, Sydney Dark, did quite a bit to encourage the revival of Morris dancing in the 1920s, but I have never quite twigged to it. Having said that the Missus and I used to do Country Dancing, which Sir Thomas Beecham put under the ban with his remark 'Try everything once - except incest and country dancing!' :shock: Looks like we all have our issues...

Peter in Va
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Animals on the line

Post by ge_rik » Sun Dec 30, 2018 4:32 pm

I used to love it until my knees started complaining. Some of the young men I joined with are still at it - clearly have sturdier knees than mine.

Sorry Bob, a bit of thread drift here

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Re: Animals on the line

Post by tom_tom_go » Mon Dec 31, 2018 6:05 pm

So Rik doesn't get abuse for being a cat lover but I do? :lol:

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