bit of sad news.

Last night he was gone! Squirrel on the road. Dead. Hours earlier (less than a day ago) we saw the horrifying sight – “John” was dead flat (or flat dead) on the road. His tongue was sticking out.

Why didn’t the drivers learn to slow down? Why did the speed bumps not encourage more careful driving?

Had we put up signs saying “Squirrels ahead” (not “Children ahead”), it would not discourage impatient, reckless drivers.

As a bit of background, lately we’ve had a lot more animals near us. They are reproducing fast. But they also face dangers.

Squirrel visit a lot this year, both at the front and the back of the house. Squirrels are harmless to the birds (unlike cats).

Squirrels are gentle animals.

cold winter night is coming soon. Temperatures will go below zero tonight or tomorrow night. Indoors it’ll be cold too (unless heated up overnight; energy is not cheap anymore). The water in the unheated tank is at about 17 degrees (°C) at the moment (early in daytime, it can warm up later). The topical one is somewhere around 25-26°C.

Our red-rimmed melania can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. Wikipedia says, “[a]lthough normally a freshwater snail, this species is very tolerant of brackish water, and has been recorded in waters with a salinity of 32.5 ppt (1,024 specific gravity salinity).”

“It is, though, a warm-climate species. It appears to prefer a temperature range of 18 to 25 °C (64 to 77 °F)[6] or 18 to 32 °C (64 to 90 °F).[7] Research has been conducted to determine the snail’s lethal high water temperature, which is about 50 °C (122 °F).[7] This information is helpful in the disinfection of fishing gear and research equipment, which otherwise may inadvertently spread the snails to uninfested waters.[7][28]”

“This species is resistant to low oxygen levels.[29] Its pollution tolerance value is 3 (on scale 0–10; 0 is the best water quality, 10 is the worst water quality).[30]”

The word “uninfested” is used; Rianne started with only one in her tank, now there must be 30-50 of them. They spread so fast.

ome year before COVID-19 (maybe 2018) I remember the winter being so warm that I kept wearing t-shirts – sometimes even outdoors – until and throughout December.

This year it’s a bit of a deja vu, but we’re still in early November. It’s nice and warm today and as recently as days ago I could still sunbathe outside.

t has gotten cold again (overnight) and Mr. Green came here with a sneeze. He was always a bit sick, but the eyes have mostly recovered (he was in an awful condition when he first came here; the kitchen became like a hospital or E.R. to him).

Now it seems like he’s sick with some cold, so I spent minutes bottle-feeding him while protecting him (with my palms) from other birds.

I think he can survive winter, but we need to monitor him closely. Based on his beak being a bit open sometimes, maybe he has some disability or something that causes him problems all the time. But that doesn’t mean he can’t or should not survive.

he high range of temperatures for this coming week is projected to be around 13 degrees (almost every day). That’s quite mild. Heck, I managed to sunbathe for almost an hour yesterday. And this is Halloween!

Global warming is something one can feel based on memory or “gut feeling”.

Halloween should be cold, very cold. Not anymore.

T is notoriously difficult to curb the expansion of Malaysian Trumpet Snail (MTS) populations and they can adapt to a wide range of conditions with water as hot as about 50 °C (122 °F).

Rianne’s fishtank received only one such MTS and now there are dozens, only months later.

Seeing how fast life can spread is fulfilling, but it also fills up tanks. Short of culling, there can be diseases or parasites impacting large populations (overcrowding).

oday it was time to clean the filter in my tank and belatedly refresh things. I found some dead shells, I think it might be related to parasites/germs rather than temperature (the temperature of the water isn’t low, it’s about 20 degrees) and the fish seem happy.

3 days ago it was 5 months since I set up a tank near me, splitting off or separating the shells from Rianne’s tank, which is for the tropical species.

Rianne’s tank has since then (again) begun to become a ‘breeding ground’ for more shells.

MOAR SHELLS, OMG!

That’s fine, as I can pass them all over to mine when winter is over.

Last week I brought the tank closer to my keyboard and installed better lighting/bulb for it (the ultraviolet one had died after years of persistent use).

I’m taking it “easy” this month as we transition into “proper” autumn and weather has worsened. I still managed to sunbathe almost 10 times so far this month. Sunlight in moderation is healthy.

Colder, darker days ahead until 2 months from now (December 20/21).

he “tropical mode” in the fish tank is now activated. Overnight, there was a lingering concern about the safety of the heater, so we turned it off and decided to wait a while. Just to be on the safe side.

Basically, it seemed like something may have been cracked and the thermostat, moreover, kicked in to deactivate the heater a lot sooner than anticipated.

After 3 test runs it’s finally off to a warm start. It seems visible or visibly obvious that the fish all seem happy (all species), they are accustomed to warm water and given the weather changes this is no longer possible without some electricity.

Last night, at 10PM, moving all the tropical fish to the same tank was feasible and could be done with minimal stress to the fish, maybe a maximum of 5-7 seconds inside the net.

Fingers crossed.

If all goes well, we’ll just look forward to springtime, then remove the heater and store it away, safely.

he other week I wrote about an awkward bird that had green eyes. It didn’t seem healthy. Indeed, it’s a sign of a health problem. The good news is, this bird came back and is coming every day (going to the kitchen to ask for seeds) and the eyes are now mostly brown, as the bird in general has gotten more healthy. The same goes for “The Sick Bird”. We’d like to think that ill birds treat us like some sort of hospital, or a place to go to when their health severely deteriorates.

This past Sunday I hauled another sack of seeds for them. They should be “covered” until the end of the year, maybe even longer.

Birds are good companions. If they trust you, they will become like pet parrots. Durian, who is very young, already lets me carry him on my palm while I feed him. Of course I wash with soap and sanitise (a need for alcohol) afterwards.

This morning Rianne managed to feed about 120 birds all at the same time. It’s an incredible number and probably a new record for her (except in Piccadilly Gardens). She even doubled the jarful because there were so many (after soaking rain).

At this very moment the Bot Couple are cleaning one another. They are in excellent shape (perfect fur coverage) and ready for winter.

oday it’s time to heat up the fish tanks, as it has been getting cold lately, especially overnight, and it’ll be getting colder in weeks to come. Some fish cannot tolerate room temperature in October. Since we’re one heater short we’ll need to separate tropical ones from cold water ones.

The task isn’t hard, as no water change is needed, but catching the fish (to transfer) can traumatise them somewhat. We have no other choice.

Other than that, I’ve managed to finish Daily Links by 9AM. I think that’s the first time ever. This will free up time for other tasks.