Wildlife Autumn 2007 (spring wildlife Down Under)

[Maggi Young]

It would be north and a little west...just a few miles north of the New Jersey border. I'm surrounded (more or less) by Harriman State Park and Sterling Forest...and on the shores of Tuxedo Lake.

Sorry...no GPS coordinates.

Thought I might fancy a holiday home in your neck of the woods, Carlo, to be close to the Gardens... look what I found, sorry about HUGE URL:

http://www.myclassicrealestate.com/listings/detail.php?lid=15558648&limit=0&offset=0&&&posc=5&post=50&cfq=uri%3D%2FHomes%2FNY%2FOrange%2FTuxedo_Park%2FTuxedo_Park_Real_Estate_Listings.html%26SRSearchDate%3D1190040082%26SRRecordCount%3D24%26SRPage%3D1%26SRPageCount%3D3%26SRPageLinks%3D6

Built in 1890, an historic propery in American terms, I suppose..... nearly the smallest property I found, less than 3000 sq feet, it seems... others were as much as 10000 !!!
And only £1 million pounds, 2.2 million dollars... looks pretty, though!

A gated community, I think, too.. that must be to keep the underpaid Garden Directors out!

[Carlo]

That's the Cook's house. They are my neighbors across the street (many a nice barbecue there...). I'm doing my best to convince them to stay...

[Maggi Young]

Good grief.. is that the house of the cook as in chef or the Family Cook?

[Carlo]

NO MAGGI! Just a family named Cook.

[Maggi Young]

Darn, and I was just about to apply for the job!
So, the whole place is beset with Turtles, then? Raccoons?

[Carlo]

Some turtles and racoons, mink, all manner of small rodents, deer, turkeys, many other kinds of birds, skinks, frogs, snakes and bear.

[annew]

That's a cottage?!

[Carlo]

It was the gardener's cottage on one of the estates. Now it's quite a lovely home.

[Anthony Darby]

Bit like Dunblane. Down the road is a stone built two story detached house called 'Newton Cottage', which was the gardener's house for the mansion opposite. Probably worth nearly a million quid now?

[John Forrest]

Had a little trip out to Grange over Sands which has a super tearoom with mouthwatering cakes and famed for its tea. Opposite is a little park with a collection of waterfowl, some of which are wild and others part of a collection. Here are a few pics of what I 'think' I can identify and later some which the resident experts can help me put names to. Unfortunately they had all lined up on the wrong shore so that Iwas facing into the sun.

1 General pic
2 Pochard
3 Shelduck
4 Australian Shelduck
5 Eider

[Lesley Cox]

Maggi, when you move in, I hope you'll expect the occasional visitor!

[Maggi Young]

certainly, Lesley but first i need Carlo to confirm that there are skinks but no skunks!

[Maggi Young]

Duck are SO photogenic, aren't they?  Also delicious, which makes me feel very guilty. Sorry.

Have you seen the very elegantly shaped Duck in the Southern Hemisphere Daffodill pages... don't know what type they are but they seem tallish though not in the Indian Runner Duck way. Nice fat Kookaburra there, too.

[Carlo]

Sorry Maggi...there are skunks and skinks...the garden's a veritable zoo!

[Maggi Young]

Skunks, too, eh? I thought as much... still, my sister Frances developed a modus vivendi with skunks at one time, though her cats didn't get on so well, so I suppose it can be done.