Headstall's Reflections - 79. Chapter 79 Robins and Spiders and Cats, Oh My!

I had to smile at the images conveyed between the robin and cat scenario.  Playful game or prelude to a battle for survival?  Not so long ago it was thought that the concept of play was unknown in the animal kingdom, but we now know that to be untrue.  It was thought then to be training for survival, but the scene you portray shows us otherwise.
I seem to recall that the naturalist Konrad Lorenz said play was an integral part of the development of all animals...yes, it's related to hunting instincts, but it is done even when there is no actual prey around, say between siblings in a lion's pride. 
As for spiders...well, they are excellent predators, and serve a very useful purpose in our environment.  Even so, there are many examples of them grown to enormous size preying on humans in both movies and novels.  I too set them outside if I find one in the house, and when I lived in the country I would be careful not to destroy their webs when I found them in the undergrowth.
Dang, can't say anymore that 'Sumer is icumen in'...it's already here.

1 hour ago, ColumbusGuy said:

 

I had to smile at the images conveyed between the robin and cat scenario.  Playful game or prelude to a battle for survival?  Not so long ago it was thought that the concept of play was unknown in the animal kingdom, but we now know that to be untrue.  It was thought then to be training for survival, but the scene you portray shows us otherwise.
I seem to recall that the naturalist Konrad Lorenz said play was an integral part of the development of all animals...yes, it's related to hunting instincts, but it is done even when there is no actual prey around, say between siblings in a lion's pride. 
As for spiders...well, they are excellent predators, and serve a very useful purpose in our environment.  Even so, there are many examples of them grown to enormous size preying on humans in both movies and novels.  I too set them outside if I find one in the house, and when I lived in the country I would be careful not to destroy their webs when I found them in the undergrowth.
Dang, can't say anymore that 'Sumer is icumen in'...it's already here.

 

Hey, buddy. I must confess I don't always rescue spiders, but I've started to realize they have lives too, and that I should not interfere with that. I don't think I will ever love them, but I will do my best to treat them kindly. 

I have so many barn cats, and they are all well fed, so while some are great and successful hunters, some are not. My robins appear to know the ones they can intimidate. They are crafty birds... I watch them through the windows, and I've actually seen a pair confuse a cat who's near their nest. The cat ends up giving up, not knowing what's going on when a bird advances on them.   Thanks for reading and commenting, my dear friend... much love... G-man. xoxoxo

I liked these very much. Robins seem quite bold in the lawn, but they’re just thrush-sized chickens when one strays too close. Then they cheep and cluck at one for hours. Spiders are perfectly fine, as long as they stay out of my house and a proper antisocial distance from me. Thank you for glimpses of the day. 

13 minutes ago, Valkyrie said:

I liked them all, but particularly the first and last.  I don't carry spiders in tissues, but I will put a glass over them, then a paper over the glass, and then carry it screaming and dancing outside and release it onto the lawn.  And I definitely run and flail like Kermit the Frog in case it suddenly bolts and attacks.    

Thanks, Val. I'm trying to do right by spiders, but it's not easy. I don't flail, but I move hella fast.   Robins are brazen birds when it comes to their territory.  

13 minutes ago, Parker Owens said:

I liked these very much. Robins seem quite bold in the lawn, but they’re just thrush-sized chickens when one strays too close. Then they cheep and cluck at one for hours. Spiders are perfectly fine, as long as they stay out of my house and a proper antisocial distance from me. Thank you for glimpses of the day. 

Thanks, Parker. My robins are huge and I'm surprised how close they will come to me. The back lawn is the territory of one pair, and the side and front is the territory of another. When my daughter delivers my groceries, we sit under the trees in the driveway and talk, and the whole time we are watched.   Spiders test my instincts for sure, but I am trying.  

I just love the robin and the cat! Great Images 

13 minutes ago, Albert1434 said:

I just love the robin and the cat! Great Images 

Thanks, buddy! Cookie and I watch all kinds of stuff through the big window that looks out toward the paddock.