{"id":3549,"date":"2015-08-06T18:18:19","date_gmt":"2015-08-06T23:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/?p=3549"},"modified":"2017-03-25T11:05:53","modified_gmt":"2017-03-25T16:05:53","slug":"crazy-vole-running-in-circles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/crazy-vole-running-in-circles\/","title":{"rendered":"Crazy Vole Running in Circles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As my friend left our house recently, I noticed this little vole running in circles on the driveway.<\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t know what was wrong with this little guy but he continued his compulsive circling until my husband scooped him up in a bin and took him back into the woods to release him. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GHMlYEyifJY?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Voles aren&#8217;t exactly the most interesting wildlife creatures I&#8217;ve ever seen in my backyard, but I&#8217;m adding them to my blog here just for fun.<\/p>\n<p>Called <em>Microtus pennsylvanicus<\/em> by biologists and people who like to show off, voles are also known as meadow mice or field mice. They are mouse-like in appearance but have short tails and long cylindrical bodies up to 5 to 7 inches long including tail. Their fur is brown with a lighter silver or gray belly.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4659\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4659\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"boxer\" title=\"Red Vole\" href=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Red_vole.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Red_vole.gif\" alt=\"Red Vole\" width=\"1024\" height=\"637\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4659\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4659\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Red Vole<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Voles make their homes in moist grasslands, woods, and my attic. They are active year-round and throughout the day and night, foraging and eating frequently. During their downtime, they hang out in nests created from piles of mixed grasses, sedges, and weeds, located either above or below ground. Radiating out from these nests are networks of shallow burrows through which the voles run in search of food. <\/p>\n<p>Dinner consists of grasses, sedges, and other green things in the garden, with an occasional insect or snail, supplemented in times of great hunger by a scavenged animal carcass or even one of its own family members. In winter, seeds and tubers are stored in nests and burrows.<\/p>\n<p>All that eating was used to good purpose: voles procreate at an astounding rate, producing up to 17 litters per year with four to six young per litter. <\/p>\n<p>My research did not turn up any possible reasons for the circling but I suppose it could be a brain tumor, a virus, or some kind of infection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As my friend left our house recently, I noticed this little vole running in circles on the driveway. I don&#8217;t know what was wrong with this little guy but he continued his compulsive circling until my husband scooped him up in a bin and took him back into the woods to release him. Voles aren&#8217;t&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[26,24],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-3549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-few-other-things","category-wilmington-wildlife","tag-animals-in-my-back-yard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3viLY-Vf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4828,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/three-black-cats\/","url_meta":{"origin":3549,"position":0},"title":"Three Black Cats","author":"Karen","date":"April 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Look at this little pile of kitty love!!! These are three of the foster kittens we had last year. Happily, they were all adopted, yay. Sometimes people don't want to adopt black cats for fear that they bring bad luck. I can tell you that this is ridiculous. Black cats\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A Few Other Things&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A Few Other Things","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/a-few-other-things\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Three Black Cats","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Three-Black-Cats.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Three-Black-Cats.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Three-Black-Cats.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3626,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/northern-green-frog-rana-clamitans-melatona\/","url_meta":{"origin":3549,"position":1},"title":"Northern Green Frog (Rana clamitans melatona)","author":"Karen","date":"October 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The northern green frog (Rana clamitans melanota) is a subspecies of the green frog, Rana clamitans. Native to the eastern United States, it is a common aquatic frog that never strays far from the water, except during hibernation. It lives freshwater marshes, swamps, lakes, ponds and the banks of rivers.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Wilmington Wildlife&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Wilmington Wildlife","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/a-few-other-things\/wilmington-wildlife\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Northern Green Frog (Rana clamitans melatona)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Northern-Green-Frog-Rana-clamitans-melatona-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Northern-Green-Frog-Rana-clamitans-melatona-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Northern-Green-Frog-Rana-clamitans-melatona-4.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1755,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/tree-frog\/","url_meta":{"origin":3549,"position":2},"title":"Gray Tree Frog, Hyla versicolor","author":"Karen","date":"May 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"We found this little guy wrapped up in a fold of the blue tarp that we use to cover the grill during the winter. This is the first time I've ever seen a tree frog, so cute! I had to find out more about them. They have round sticky toe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Wilmington Wildlife&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Wilmington Wildlife","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/a-few-other-things\/wilmington-wildlife\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2014-05-11 Tree Frog","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014-05-11-Toad3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2331,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/the-hurt-family-history-by-rollin-hurt\/","url_meta":{"origin":3549,"position":3},"title":"The Hurt Family History by Rollin Hurt","author":"Karen","date":"February 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Copied from Rollin HURT's notebook written in the year of 1907 by him and loaned to Ruby TAYLOR in 1962 by Mrs. Ralph HURT. (Ruby TAYLOR's notes are in ITALICS) Many thanks to Carl Johnson for this submission. The family was originally of Welsh extraction and the name was originally\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Genealogy News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Genealogy News","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/genealogy-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3956,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/colonial-herb-gardens\/","url_meta":{"origin":3549,"position":4},"title":"Colonial Herb Gardens","author":"Karen","date":"March 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Herbs are plants, parts of which contain essential oils useful in food, medicine and\/or cosmetics. Herbs usually grow in temperate regions, both in the wild and as cultivators. Herbs would have been plentiful and inexpensive in colonial American households. Herbs should be distinguished from spices, which are generally derived from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Colonial Life&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Colonial Life","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/history\/colonial-life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Herbs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Herb-Featured-Image-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Herb-Featured-Image-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Herb-Featured-Image-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Herb-Featured-Image-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5839,"url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/collecting-caves\/","url_meta":{"origin":3549,"position":5},"title":"Collecting Caves","author":"Karen","date":"July 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Pennsylvania has an abundance of caves, thanks to its unusual geological history. Millions of years ago, much of what is now Pennsylvania lay beneath shallow seas. Over time, the shells and skeletal remains of marine organisms accumulated on the seafloor, eventually becoming thick deposits of limestone. Later, enormous geological forces\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A Few Other Things&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A Few Other Things","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/category\/a-few-other-things\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2021-07-21 Laurel Caverns","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021-07-21-Laurel-Caverns-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021-07-21-Laurel-Caverns-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021-07-21-Laurel-Caverns-6.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021-07-21-Laurel-Caverns-6.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021-07-21-Laurel-Caverns-6.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021-07-21-Laurel-Caverns-6.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Vole.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3549"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4662,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3549\/revisions\/4662"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}