Tuesday, January 08, 2008

If pigs could fly...



So I was in my office this afternoon, minding my own business and I heard noises up on the roof. Aha, sez I to myself, I'm going to catch that so-and-so this time. With camera, I sneak up the hill and look across the roof. There's the perp -- one of the neighborhood javelina, looking straight at me, advancing toward me. Click. And while the picture is recording, s-l-o-w-l-y, the beast angles off the roof and heads uphill to safer turf. As a result, I got just one (1) picture and I'm happy with it. In case you're wondering about this animal (and many others) being on my roof, remember that my house is built into a hillside.

25 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:03 PM

    The set of three photos, in increasing close-up, made me absolutely crack up.

    "Dun! Dun! DUN!"

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  2. That was what I saw when I spotted the critter! Fortunately, he ran first! Now you can color me brave...

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  3. WOW!!!

    Holy smokes, granny j! That was amazing!

    The sort of thing that makes me want to call up the local paper out ther and say, LOOK!!! LO-OOKIE!!

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  4. Anonymous11:56 PM

    You have beat me all hollow! All I have is moose pics in the yard--you have javelina on the roof!

    Very kewl pic, mamasan.

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  5. Anonymous12:24 AM

    No doubt this creature is responsible for the residue next to te chimney.

    Hermano

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  6. Anonymous1:55 AM

    Oh, I love this. Pig on the roof. Great timing and a super photo.

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  7. Great photos. What a surprise to find a pig on your roof.

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  8. I have never seen a javelina on a roof. One wonders what it wanted up there.

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  9. at least he ran away from you. Those suckers can be really mean when confronted.

    Great pic Granny J!!

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  10. k -- actually, the javelina aren't that uncommon hereabouts and there's a troop that lives nearby, tho my roof situation is not the norm!

    dotter-- so when are you posting pix of meese?

    Bro. -- very likely that is what he/she was doing up there.

    steve -- but not nearly as cute as your German red squirrels!

    qd -- it's not really a surprise -- I've heard foot clatters on the roof often, but usually at night. Catching it in broad daylight was really unusual.

    Dagny -- maybe they show up on the roof looking for a shortcut down the hill, but maybe it's because some acorns accumulate there.

    Tombo -- I don't worry about them too much unless they've got little ones, at which point I am very cautious. Almost every experience I have had with them, they've been very happy to saunter away.

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  11. My wife and I had an unsettling experience with the piggies a couple years ago.

    We were living in the Montezuma Gardens apartments at the south end of Montezuma St. at the time, and had just come home with a carload of groceries. I was getting groceries out of the trunk and Melissa was just getting out of the car when I heard some grunting and snorting. I turned around and there was a whole herd of 10 or so javelina right behind me! Melissa scrambled onto the hood of the car while I eased around to the side of the car and retrieved my .45 from the door pocket. One of the javelina followed me gnashing his tusks and grunting, less than 6 feet away. I really didn't want to shoot him so I started yelling and waving an arm around and eventually he decided to retreat and the rest of the herd followed.

    All I've been able to figure is that they were attracted by the smell of our produce, but I've been a little extra cautious about javelina ever since.

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  12. brain -- I think I'd rather have that peacock up on my roof. Much more elegant!!

    jessel -- An unnerving experience, that! I've heard similar tales from folk who spend time out in the woods. However, I've seldom heard more than one javelina up on my roof -- and the local troop looks to be just forming from a couple with two adolescents.

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  13. Wow!

    That can't be good for your roof. ,-)

    Mari-Nanci

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  14. wow, a little wildlife brings a whole lot of comments!! :)

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  15. And we are amazed when we find deer near our bird feeders???

    Your photo takes the cake.

    All we ever get are pigeons and squirrels.

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  16. Anonymous1:56 PM

    Wow .... and I worry about squirrels on the roof!?!

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  17. SnS -- Actually, it's been happening for a long time & the roof doesn't look to have any major problems. But there's aways a first time!

    Tombo -- I guess that it even beats an automotive post, which is another winner!

    pb -- I don't think we get deer in this close to downtown, tho the raccoons recently ate my neighbors' big and medium sized koi and many of the little guys, too.

    Sallyann -- we have about as many squirrels in the immediate neighborhood as we do deer -- that is, zero!

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  18. Oh My Goodness!!

    granny j..I must say that this is the first time I have ever seen an animal, of any kind, on a roof!

    As soon as I saw it, I thought that "when pigs fly" had come to pass! :)

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  19. Great photo, Granny. He seems as nonplussed to see you as you did he/she.

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  20. Reminds me of the two down at a zoo in Tucson, named, of course, Olivia de Javelina and Gregory Peccary.

    Some other time, will recount the tale of a cartoonist friend of mine who liked to hike in the buff (Oh. My. Gawd.) and the day he was surrounded by a pack of javelinas...

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  21. Now this is something I have never seen.
    I'm with Kate in the first comment!

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  22. Cat-A -- I think he was q lot more surprised than I -- since I knew he was up there.

    Lori -- did this happen anywhere near a patch of Teddy Bear cholla, huh, huh?

    juliar -- this critter is a creature of Mexico and the southwestern USA, strictly; I'm told that they're fairly common in the washes in and around Scottsdale.

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  23. Hey, we haven't had javelinas for ages!(Then three turn up all at once...)
    Loved Lori's names for the ones at the zoo!

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  24. lucy -- this time I was close to the fellow for a change & got a nice portrait. Besides, there was only one up there on the roof so I wasn't intimidated.

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