Twilight
Quintin & Cruella de Quill watching the colors at dawn
Cruella: “Hey Quintin! It looks like a pathetic paparazzo is pestering us poor porcupines.”
Quintin: “It seems that way, doesn’t it!”
Cruella: “He can’t leave a pair of porcupines in peace to enjoy the colorful dawn.”
Quintin: “A paparazzo with no regard for porcupine privacy!”
Cruella: “So? What are you going to do about him?”
Quintin: “Uhhh! Like what can I do about him?”
Cruella: “Throw some quills at him! Poof up and act scary like you’re going to attack him, or something!”
Quintin: “You know I can’t throw quills…”
Cruella: “Yeah! But that pesky paparazzo might not know that. Humans believe we can throw our quills at them.”
Quintin: “Il paparazzo is unphased by those tactics!”
Cruella: “You’re going to have to hit him with the heavy artillery!
Quintin: “Nooo! You don’t mean…”
Cruella: “Yes, I do… Set up him the stink bomb!*”
*Cruella de Quill’s weird grammar in her last statement is based on a bad translation of an old Japanese video game. When poofing violently, like they are going to throw their quills, doesn’t phase pesky paparazzi predators, porcupines will drop powerful stink bombs trying to keep predatory paparazzi at bay.
Spunk, Gwendolyn, and Glenda by Laurie
pTerodactyl @ Dusk
Resa’s Wolf Tree and Jupiter
Off Center & Not Even 
Our Australian equivalent to a
porcupine is the prickly echidna.
They neither climb trees 🌳 or
drop stink bombs 💣 thankfully.
I have a few working for me in
the garden keeping down the
ant population 🐜
We had to ban porcupines from our garden because they were breaking the canes on our roses, reaching up and bending the canes to get to the tender growth. Thanks, David.
Long Haired Vegetarians‼️🚫 😎
But their long hair can’t cover up their destructive rednecks.
A Redneck Rodent problem 😱🕶
Big redneck rodents.
“All your human houses are belong to us”. Am I the only one who didn’t know NM has porcupine? Oh, and I definitely saw the porcupine throw quills in the Sing movie…just saying
Thanks, Brian. More like, “All your rose bushes belong to us!” I figured you would know the source. Yes, we have porcupines in NM, and they are very destructive. They strip bark off trees and ring trees. They eat the tops of pine, juniper, and piñon, allowing pine beetles to invade the trees. Between pine beetles, drought, and forest fires, a lot of our forests have taken serious hits over the years.
When we had more raccoons hanging around (the GHOs have reduced the raccoon and skunk populations quite a bit over the past 10 years), I would shoot them with airsoft when they got aggressive, and they would run off. I shot a big porcupine with an airsoft, thinking it would run off like the raccoons. But no! That sucker stood up on its hind legs like a bear and lunged at me, backing Laurie and me onto the deck.
I have to admit I have never seen a porcupine in the wild, but the thought of a pissed off one wanting a pound of flesh frightens me bigly.
They are giant rodents not to be taken lightly. Did you see the Ralph and Herbie Coyote post from a few days ago? I think you will like it.
You learn something every day. Porcupines up trees with stink bombs… dangerous beasts 😊
Thanks, couriers. Porcupines are really dangerous for dogs when the dogs get their faces full of quills. Porcupines spend a lot of time in trees. They will curl up at the top of 60-foot cottonwoods looking like a ball of leaves or mistletoe. They ae destructive, stripping bark off of trees, ringing trees, and eating the top growth off trees, which allows pests and diseases to infect the trees. Those two stripped almost all the bark off the tree they were in when I photographed them.
Rzther menacing beasts. Love them but happy we don’t come across them on our walks…
When I’m walking in the bosque when it’s almost dark, and the bush in front of me is moving, it’s not a bush.
Guess you’ve taught Jake to be very calm around them. A cousin of mine in Canada had a dog badly struck by one.
Jake hardly notices them.
I will add that while Jake acts like he doesn’t notice porcupines when he’s on the leash, if he encountered one on the property, he would probably try to play with it. I don’t let him outside by himself at night because I don’t want him to try to play with raccoons and porcupines.
LOL….. Love it.
Thanks, Shey.
I hope you didn’t get stink bombed?!
Not this time, but I have been stink-bombed when I got too close to a porcupine in a tree. Thanks, Tiffany.
Did you get stink-bombed? I dearly hope not. I am still in awe of the fact that porcupines climb trees… what is up with that?
Love the blurred photo – very dreamy.
Your photos are all so very lovely, Tim.
I did not get stink bombed by Quinten, but I got stink bombed several years ago when I got too close to a porcupine in a tree.
I discovered when I’m using digital zoom in low light, if I add a glow filter to the image, I can clean up the pixilation quite a bit, but the image ends up with a slight blur, but much clearer than the straight pixilated image. Thanks, Dale.
A learning experience, no doubt!
And that makes a wonderful image 🙂
I never knew that porcupines climb trees until we saw one in a tree in our yard.
Porcupine spend a lot of time in trees, eating the bark and killing the trees. Thanks, Liz.
You’re welcome, Tim.
Is Spunkie-Poo 💋 caring for or dominating Gwendolyn?
The look on her face is odd. Neat shot, compliments to Laurie.
Gee, those porcupines look cute. I’ve never seen one in real life. Thanks Tim! xx
Porcupinelettes are cute. Adults are not as cute. Gwendolyn often has odd expressions. Thanks, Resa.
Porcupinelettes – what a great word!
I saw that “porcupette” is the official name of Porcupinelettes.
I like yours better!
Me too.
My tree looks fab!!!!
Beautiful photos form you and Laurie, Tim. I love the kitties!
So the porcupines drop stinky poop on you? I had forgotten they are part of the bosque fauna. pTerodactyl @ Dusk is a beautiful composition.
It’s not really poop as it is a foul musk. Thanks, Lavinia.
I can just imagine it from an animal that size.
Great pictures, Tim. I did not know that porcupines climbed trees.
Porcupines spend a lot of time in trees around here. Thanks, Robbie.
So interesting
Love the commentary, a surprise to see porcupines in trees – something I never would have imagined. Beautiful captures, and as always, such beautiful skies.
Our raccoons spend a lot of time in trees eating the bark and sleeping in the tip-tops of the trees. Thanks, Randall.
Great shot Laurie! I never knew porcupines climbed trees .. nor that they are very smelly!
Porcupines climb very well and can let loose a powerful stench. Thanks, Julie.
They seem so cumbersome on the ground .. good to know they are adept climbers
They are like waddling bushes on the ground.