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Unwanted Visitors To Pottery Shed. Had Any?


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I have had skunks trying to raise their young more than once under studio-Its been a battle each time but managed to catch them in live traps and displace each time

Each Time I made it skunk proof or so I thought.

I have had none this winter which is usually their time to move in.

Mark

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I chased a rat snake out of a big, hard brick burn out kiln the other day.  We have rats in the studios--all of them.  There are roaches during the summer--geckos too, those are cute though.  The occasional possum will wander in as well.  And I work for a university :P

You should speak more considerately about your students!

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They're great for "coil" building, couldn't resist :rolleyes: . Found 8 ft black snake once stretched out in front  of me  from the electric kiln. Thought I had unplugged the kiln till it moved, so did I.

I relocated it in a brush pile nearby..

Tom cats, birds that nest, etc,goes with having a studio in an old service station.

Wyndham

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Went into the studion years ago, after a hard Winter week, and finding the door open as the latch was unhooked one day. I had started up the heat and found there was a strange sweet smell in the garage. Found the body of a large rat that looked like it had been in a big fight with a cat. There had been a storage area that used to be a peanut factory behind our house. When they tore it down, the residents had to find other lodgings.

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I have to keep the doors closed otherwise next doors cat will be in there walking over wet pots, occasionally it can make an interesting feature on slabbed work, but the cat appears unable to distinguish between freshly thrown pieces and slabwork.

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When I had my studio in the basement some years ago, my cat used to leave foot prints in my platters all the time. And one day he jumped up onto a shelf that was filled end to end with 180 bone dry votive candle holders (for our wedding reception). He walked from one end of the shelf to the other by putting his little feet inside the pots, then jumped off without breaking a single one.

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The worst critters in my basement are crickets. My little cat will chase them down and eat them. Sometimes I just find the legs. Yuck.

I don't have crickets, but we literally have box elder bugs crawling out of the walls.  Our previous home, did not.  I think it's the sprayed cellulose insulation.  Luckily, they don't damage anything.  They are just there.  Like with the crickets, my cat will sometimes eat the box elder bugs, after toying with them a bit.  Our dog will also sometimes eat them.  Usually they'd only come out when the weather would warm up.  However, we still have some coming out, and it's been below zero. 

 

When I had my studio in the basement some years ago, my cat used to leave foot prints in my platters all the time. And one day he jumped up onto a shelf that was filled end to end with 180 bone dry votive candle holders (for our wedding reception). He walked from one end of the shelf to the other by putting his little feet inside the pots, then jumped off without breaking a single one.

Fun fact, cats can alter their body weight based on the surface they are standing on.  I'm fairly certain they can walk on water, and even pull off some of that "Crouching Tiger" air walking stuff.....

 

My cat, thus far, hasn't walked on any of my wares.  She will however, steal my throwing sponge, the moment she knows I have it out.  I have to keep it sealed in my water bucket, or she will find it and carry it throughout the house dripped clay water everywhere.  In fact, just yesterday, I was getting my wheel set up.  I turned my back to wedge a couple balls of clay, turned back around, and sure enough, the sponge was gone.  I just followed the drip path to find it. 

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I generally get beetles and spiders that my dog eats so I don't find them to much anymore, but I also get some lizards and frogs.  He'll kill the lizards if he can catch them but doesn't like the taste of the frogs.  I don't like pesticides and chemicals so I leave other creatures alone, I can't say that for my dog.   Denice

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TJR  I feel bad for the people in Canada we only had one night below 0 night here and its starting to warm up already. It was 6 this morning, when its this cold I don't even try to warm my studio, just wasting electricity.  I should be able to get back to work tomorrow. It's a dry cold here the snow blow around like talc in the wind. Denice

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Can't comment. It's just effing COLD. The cold kills everything.

TJR

minus 31 yesterday. Only minus 26 today. Still effing cold. But it's a DRY cold.

T.

Now relax TJR, mind over matter, visualise a remote Australian beach, 38deg. C and you are lying there with ,sorry, an ice cold beer in hand, feel the warmth!

Best beer I tasted was in Exmouth, WA flaked with ice, well for a moment. Not a beer drinker.

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Ants and wasps.   We have every kind of ant imaginable on our own private sand hill.  They can find all sorts of ways into the shop (kiln, glazing)  I get great joy out of seeing them fry on the lid of the kiln.  Really. I do.  they get in everything.    And the wasps built a mudnest inside my fan for my vent.  I thought the fan was going out...we took it apart and Ta Da there was a big mud nest on the blades.  Cleaned that off and it was fine.  However that is only from April through October.  In the cold months it's just the random spider who can't believe his good luck in finding a halfway warm place to hang out!

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I found the skeletal remains of a small rodent on a plate as I was unloading a kiln. It was kind of beautiful, in a odd way, but the student whose work it was stuck to wasn't happy.

I've often wondered how much would be left of bone, in a kiln.  Was it mostly ash?

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 My only other guests are daddy long legs. We co-exist fairly comfortably.

Daddy longlegs in my experience have the ability to excrete white/beige on black slate and excrete black/brown on white tiles.... rather have a snake skin.

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