Category: Wildlife

Caught red pawed

On By CarynIn Wildlife
Squirrel leaving the scene of the attempted heist

The squirrel feeder went empty, and I didn’t notice until I saw the squirrel at the window trying to get into the metal can where I keep the bag of food. It had chewed through the bungee cord securing the lid and was working on loosening the top. The freshly chewed end is visible in the picture above. When I went out to rectify the situation, the cord was still wet. I filled the feeder, retied the bungee cord, and snugged the lid down tight. Cheeky. This one is bold, which might explain his partial tail.

Green

On By CarynIn Garden, Wildlife
Katydid

I like the composition of this photograph. At first there is just a field of green, then the Katydid picked out against the leaves, then the gap in leaves and the insect staring into the beyond, one antennae reaching down into the void. Is it going to jump? (Well, it is a Katydid.) Is it going to jump before I can snap the photo (luckily no).

Bummer

On By CarynIn Wildlife

I thought we were going to have a front row seat for metamorphosis; I found a caterpillar crawling up a stem of our Gregg’s Mist flowers. These plants are in the front flower bed and we pass them daily.

Caterpillar on a Gregg’s Mist Flower stem
Chrysalis forming on a stem
Fallen incomplete chrysalis

I’m not sure if the location was bad, or the insect genetics didn’t read right, or if something knocked off the forming chrysalis, but it fell off the stem before the shell hardened. Bummer.

Always check your shoes

On By CarynIn Life Hack, Wildlife

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 is
Rough 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.

Intruder

On By CarynIn Cats, Wildlife
Izzy going for a nuthatch

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!