Shortly after we moved in, we found that we had nine-banded armadillos living in the yard. Pretty sure you can’t get much more Texas than that. (You actually can, but it is a start.) In the last couple of weeks I’ve started to see signs of their passing again: small shallow holes dug in the ground as they look for tasty insects. Armadillos are insectivores, and so are good to have around. Now they also carry leprosy, so are not good to touch or handle.

The armadillo babies are absolutely adorable to watch, though. Here is a picture from last year of one of the four babies. Armadillo females give birth to identical quadruplets. Every time. I’m really hoping to see a new litter this summer!

And those protective shells must protect some vulture gold, because those unfortunate enough to have a fatal encounter with a car attract vultures quickly and in mass. The vultures clean out everything but the shell.

Another plus, they don’t eat chicken! Finally something in the yard that won’t be after our future birds!