I was taught young to always shake out my shoes before putting them on, especially if they have been sitting outside. The caterpillar trying to climb in my sneaker when I was checking on chickens was a subtle reminder why.
Caterpillar shoe invasion
Oh, that and snakes, which are now coming out from their winter rest.
Blurry picture of a rat snake, probably wouldn’t fit in my shoe, despite how skinny it isRough earth snake, ten of these would fit in my shoe, non venomous, but very wiggly
Here is a short of the rough earth snake, which is so wiggly because it was having trouble getting traction on the sidewalk.
Oh, and the scorpions, which would be an ouchie shoe find. And rocks, which also hurt, but don’t defensively pinch or sting. But spiders bite. Basically, always check your shoes before putting them on.
The picture is terrible, but frankly I’m surprised I obtained any image at all. There was a nuthatch outside on the coop looking in the house, then a ruckus behind the curtain that caught the cat’s attention. I pulled back the curtain to see a second nuthatch in between the screen and the window on the inside. I snapped the picture just as the bird dove down into the cat’s claws. I pulled the cat off and the bird rocketed back out the hole in the screen, through the catio bars, and off to freedom. That was quite the excitement for one morning, thank you. I’m very thankful I didn’t have to chase the bird through the house. I’ve seen some insects come through the flap I sewed into the screen so the cats could access the catio, but never a bird!
We planted one Gregg’s Mist Flower in the front garden. We tried a different variety of mist flower previously, but they didn’t take well, and didn’t attract butterflies. These are growing well and nearly every time I walk by, I see a butterfly! Hurray!
Butterfly on Gregg’s Mist Flower
I believe the butterfly visiting in the photo is a Painted Lady butterfly.
Time to start watching the roads for migrating turtles! Really, I always watch out for turtles, but spring and fall are the big moving days. Turtles are creatures of habit and go back and forth between sites cyclically. I have read that moving a turtle outside their known stomping grounds could send the reptile into a lifelong circle of trying to find its way home. I don’t know if it is true, but it is heart wrenching to think about. Herpetologistsrecommend not removing the animal from the area, and if it is in physical danger (road, cars), move it straight across the road in the direction it was headed. Here is some good advice from the US Fish and Wildlife site.
We have a turtle that crosses our property. We have seen it on the trail cam, and on occasion it makes its way under our fence and into the yard. This year the dogs found it first, and after I took them inside and let the turtle have some time to move on, I found that it had cornered itself behind the catio. Hm.
Izzy the cat watching a turtle
Since I wasn’t about to take the turtle through the house, I put it outside the fence near where the dogs found it. My eldest watched it for a time, but the turtle knew it was being watched and didn’t move. We gave it space for about twenty minutes, and when we checked, it was gone. Like, gone, gone, can’t find it anywhere. It is amazing how far they can go when they are on a mission.
By the way, I have “stop for turtles” vinyl decals on my Etsy shop. Yup, I’m that kind of person.
I checked the trail cam again and saw the usual complement of possum, raccoon, bird, and cat pictures. The bonus shot was of the resident gray fox. Of the cat pictures, there were two with un-tipped ears. Sigh.
Critters and Craft 