We have had a few wild visitors found in unexpected places this week!

A leopard frog found his way into the chicken coop recently. I couldn’t catch him the first day, but I found him in the same spot again the next day. This time I was able to catch him and relocate him nearer our neighbor’s pond.

My husband greeted our new neighbor, the largest spiny lizard I’ve seen, hanging out on the side of the house. My eldest caught her, and she was surprisingly docile once caught, allowing herself to be carried over to a tree.

The rains have finally come, and our poor industrious bumble bee, who has been diligently pollinating the mist flowers, took refuge from the deluge on the wall of our porch.

Even more surprising was the juvenile western rat snake that looked at me when I opened a cupboard in the coop. I was not quick enough with the camera for him!

I’ve started taking my good camera with me on my morning walks again. It is a clunker, but my phone camera just isn’t up to the task of capturing anything much at a distance. Also, because of the pandemic, my walks are now close to home, which, in my past mind, isn’t near as full of potential wildlife photos as my trail walks. So it is the first day walking with my camera again, and there are some pretty things, but nothing worth making the dog stop (he is good about stopping and waiting, but he gives me a look). We are almost back home when a flock of snowy egrets glides overhead. It was stunning. They flew just over the tree tops and the sky was filled with the gleam of their white bodies reflecting the pink of the sunrise and beautifully set off by the blue sky with just whispers of clouds. I stood there staring up in wonder… with my camera hanging around my neck. I woke up and lifted the camera and managed one picture of their retreating flight. So this is what I give to you today, with words so that you might be able to picture in your own mind the splendor of standing under as they glided past.