Road Runners Maybe I should change my nickname to Willey Coyote?

[sheepdog 10]

Did you ever do something that was really totally pointless, rather silly almost, but end up being rather proud of your self when you accomplished your goal at last? Well, I did, and it?s a kind of neat story. Several years ago a pair of Road Runners took up residence at our place. I thought it was kind of neat, they are not common in this area, and are an interesting bird. I didn?t want to discourage them from hanging around where we could see them, so I started exercising some caution when I saw one. I would stop moving, or would move slowly so as not to frighten them away. And I started speaking to them, saying hello Road Runner when ever I spotted one. It wasn?t too long before they decided we were not a threat, and they wouldn?t run away the second they spotted us. Gradually we were able to get closer and closer without frightening them away. It was this ability to observe them up close that led me to the discovery of what seemed to be their favorite food?.mice! Well, that certainly thrilled me, as I thought the Road Runners were a lot cuter and more fun to have around than snakes, and mice are a huge nuisance around here. I was even more glad I had encouraged them to hang around. As time went on, we were able to get quite close to them, and since I had discovered their favorite food, I decided to up the game a little. I always keep mouse traps set in the kennel so nearly always have a fresh, (or not so fresh if I forget where I set a trap) supply of mouse bodies on hand. So one day just for the fun of it, I got a nice fat mouse carcass and walked out and got as close as I could to the tamest bird, the one I figured was the male Road Runner. He watched me approach, and was not overly concerned, but when I tossed the mouse he panicked and ran away. However, as with most birds, they have very keen eyesight, and I believe he actually saw that it was a mouse that I threw in his direction, because in a few minutes after I tossed it and backed off, he came back looking for it. I tried again the next day, and though he ran again, he didn?t run as far, and came back even quicker than the first day. This part of his training went on for several more days, until he no longer ran from me at all. Eventually, instead of running from me, when he saw me he actually started to come towards me. It wasn?t long before he was showing up every day about the same time looking for his daily handout. He grew less and less leery of me. Once he figured out I was feeding him, taking the next step was even easier. I started tossing the mice closer and closer to where I was standing, so he had to get really close to me to get his mouse snack. Eventually he was coming to within just a few feet. He would snatch the mouse and run as soon as he grabbed it, but even so, he was just a few feet away by then. I was really enjoying this interaction with a wild bird, so I continued on with his training. One day I simple bent down and held the mouse by the tail and reached my arm out to him. Well, that really gave him some cause for concern. You could just see him fidgeting and dancing about, wanting that mouse so bad, but afraid to come that close. Truth be told, it concerned me somewhat also, their beaks are hard and quite pointy and look pretty sturdy, I did have some thoughts about the safety of my fingers. I would eventually toss him the mouse, but every day I?d wait a bit longer to toss it, and would make sure it landed a little closer to me every time. Eventually, his hunger overcame his shyness, and finally one day he actually took the mouse right out of my hand! When that last step was finally taken, he really had lost all fear of us. He would even come to the front door of the house and look in to see what we were doing, (maybe wondering when I was going to come and feed him?) I think if he?d of seen a mouse run across the floor he would of come right on inside after it. One day I had been grooming dogs, and I used the 4 wheeler to carry a dog back out to his pen. I stopped after putting him back under a nearby shade tree to rest a minute. Heard a noise, and turned round to look behind me and there sat the Road Runner on the back of the 4 wheeler perched on the rack right next to me! My bird buddy was gone the next year, we went quite awhile without seeing any Road Runners, but this year I see we have a new pair starting to hang around??.

[magnafrost 0]

Did you ever do something that was really totally pointless, rather silly almost, but end up being rather proud of your self when you accomplished your goal at last? Well, I did, and it’s a kind of neat story. Several years ago a pair of Road Runners took up residence at our place. I thought it was kind of neat, they are not common in this area, and are an interesting bird. I didn’t want to discourage them from hanging around where we could see them, so I started exercising some caution when I saw one. I would stop moving, or would move slowly so as not to frighten them away. And I started speaking to them, saying hello Road Runner when ever I spotted one. It wasn’t too long before they decided we were not a threat, and they wouldn’t run away the second they spotted us. Gradually we were able to get closer and closer without frightening them away. It was this ability to observe them up close that led me to the discovery of what seemed to be their favorite food….mice! Well, that certainly thrilled me, as I thought the Road Runners were a lot cuter and more fun to have around than snakes, and mice are a huge nuisance around here. I was even more glad I had encouraged them to hang around.

As time went on, we were able to get quite close to them, and since I had discovered their favorite food, I decided to up the game a little. I always keep mouse traps set in the kennel so nearly always have a fresh, (or not so fresh if I forget where I set a trap) supply of mouse bodies on hand. So one day just for the fun of it, I got a nice fat mouse carcass and walked out and got as close as I could to the tamest bird, the one I figured was the male Road Runner. He watched me approach, and was not overly concerned, but when I tossed the mouse he panicked and ran away. However, as with most birds, they have very keen eyesight, and I believe he actually saw that it was a mouse that I threw in his direction, because in a few minutes after I tossed it and backed off, he came back looking for it. I tried again the next day, and though he ran again, he didn’t run as far, and came back even quicker than the first day. This part of his training went on for several more days, until he no longer ran from me at all. Eventually, instead of running from me, when he saw me he actually started to come towards me. It wasn’t long before he was showing up every day about the same time looking for his daily handout. He grew less and less leery of me. Once he figured out I was feeding him, taking the next step was even easier. I started tossing the mice closer and closer to where I was standing, so he had to get really close to me to get his mouse snack. Eventually he was coming to within just a few feet. He would snatch the mouse and run as soon as he grabbed it, but even so, he was just a few feet away by then. I was really enjoying this interaction with a wild bird, so I continued on with his training. One day I simple bent down and held the mouse by the tail and reached my arm out to him. Well, that really gave him some cause for concern. You could just see him fidgeting and dancing about, wanting that mouse so bad, but afraid to come that close. Truth be told, it concerned me somewhat also, their beaks are hard and quite pointy and look pretty sturdy, I did have some thoughts about the safety of my fingers. I would eventually toss him the mouse, but every day I’d wait a bit longer to toss it, and would make sure it landed a little closer to me every time. Eventually, his hunger overcame his shyness, and finally one day he actually took the mouse right out of my hand! When that last step was finally taken, he really had lost all fear of us. He would even come to the front door of the house and look in to see what we were doing, (maybe wondering when I was going to come and feed him?) I think if he’d of seen a mouse run across the floor he would of come right on inside after it.

One day I had been grooming dogs, and I used the 4 wheeler to carry a dog back out to his pen. I stopped after putting him back under a nearby shade tree to rest a minute. Heard a noise, and turned round to look behind me and there sat the Road Runner on the back of the 4 wheeler perched on the rack right next to me!

My bird buddy was gone the next year, we went quite awhile without seeing any Road Runners, but this year I see we have a new pair starting to hang around…….

Wow. Thats a very interesting read. You should consider taking up literature if you already havent Kinda kept me glued full time. Did you take pics of it by any chance ? Will look nice I am sure! And one doubt in your story Was it always the male who came to get the mice from you ? If the female never came, its an interesting observation I would say. I've heard that in the case of lions, the male is lazy and sleeps around in the cave, while the female manages to get the food. The male only ever walks out if his help is actually needed, say, for taking down a large elephant( or maybe if a tiger was giving menacing looks at the lion cubs ? ) . This means its not always a given that males are lazy. Darn .. I thought I could always use this as an excuse for being lazy

Oh yes.. almost forgot .. coming to the actual question that you asked! I've had that experience though I'm not sure if I have anything worth mentioning. Something like getting an awesome (read lucky) headshot on CS or making one smart movie in Dota which got my team kills while we are safe. I can actually quote instances for those though I'm sure this is not the thread for that. You could also including making PJs. My specialty is clubbing my mother tongue and English in a way that provides a double meaning for the statement I'm making, and the exasperated look that the audience provide you in return is just priceless !!!
Edited July 13, 2010 by magnafrost (see edit history)