11/02/2026
❄️ 𝟯 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡𝗦 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗦
𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹.
A few paw prints beside your car.
An owl staring straight at you.
A woodpecker hammering against your house.
Most people notice these things without thinking twice.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁.
And knowing what to do can make a real difference.
———
🐾 𝟭. 𝗣𝗔𝗪 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗔𝗥 𝗧𝗜𝗥𝗘
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘄 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗿.
They lead toward the front tire.
Then disappear.
You might assume a neighborhood cat simply walked past.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.
Outdoor cats sometimes seek warmth inside the engine compartments of recently parked vehicles.
A warm engine can feel like a perfect winter shelter.
Until someone starts the car.
❤️ 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗗𝗢
Before starting your vehicle on a cold morning:
✅ 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱.
✅ 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗻.
✅ 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲.
If you suspect an animal is still inside, check safely before starting the engine.
𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.
———
🦉 𝟮. 𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗪𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗼𝘄𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱.
It turns its head toward you.
Its enormous eyes seem fixed on your face.
Maybe it begins bobbing its head.
You think you've found the perfect opportunity for a photograph.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲.
According to Project SNOWstorm, repeated staring and head-bobbing in snowy owls can indicate that the bird is becoming stressed by a nearby observer.
The owl may be monitoring you instead of resting or hunting.
❤️ 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗗𝗢
✅ 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.
✅ 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘄𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗱.
✅ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
✅ 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮'𝘀 𝘇𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗿𝗲.
———
🪵 𝟯. 𝗔 𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗥 𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗙𝗔𝗟𝗟
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A woodpecker is drilling into the wooden siding of your house.
Your first thought?
“𝗛𝗲'𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲!”
And yes, woodpeckers can damage buildings.
But here's something many homeowners don't know.
𝗜𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗮𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀.
The hole isn't necessarily about finding insects.
It may become a protected sleeping place.
According to Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, house-drilling activity can increase in fall because some holes serve as winter roost cavities.
❤️ 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗗𝗢
✅ 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱.
✅ 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀.
✅ 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹, 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲.
✅ 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝘀.
Native woodpeckers are generally protected under federal migratory bird law.
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱.
———
❤️ 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡𝗦. 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗗𝗢.
🐾 𝗣𝗔𝗪 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗔𝗥?
Knock on the hood, honk, and check before starting the engine.
🦉 𝗔𝗡 𝗢𝗪𝗟 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗬?
Give it more space. Enjoy the moment from a distance.
🪵 𝗔 𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗥 𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘?
Investigate safely and choose humane, legal solutions.
———
🌿 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡 𝗪𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗞
Sometimes the signs are right in front of us.
On the driveway.
In the tree beside the road.
On the wall of our own home.
And sometimes, helping an animal doesn't require rescuing it, feeding it, or even touching it.
𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴.
A few seconds of attention.
A little more distance.
One thoughtful decision.
𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼. ❤️
💬 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲?
𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.
