Frog soak

I usually close up the coop before bed and clean out the foot baths one more time so they are fresh in the morning. This little frog looked so comfy in his soak, I didn’t have the heart to dump him out. It has been so dry here, he was probably through the moon to find a “puddle”. He better skedaddle in the morning, though. He is about the size of a cicada, and the chickens make short work of cicadas. Taking pictures with a phone flash in the dark is not the best conditions for a good picture, but at least the subject is recognizable.

Frog in the chicken foot bath (flash)

Frogs

We had a tiny sprinkling of rain and the frogs and toads came out again. It doesn’t seem as if we have as many as last year, even with our wet spring.

Gray Tree Frog on my wrist
Tiny toad on my finger tips

Kayaking

I like to take the kids kayaking at one of the small local lakes. This last trip we saw all sorts of different wildlife! Great Egrets, great blue herons, lesser blue herons, diamond back water snakes sunning themselves on logs, and a leech. Attached to the bottom of the boat. Very interesting trip. We have started taking our dog Griffin too. He sits in my eldest’s kayak and falls out once per trip, then lays quietly the rest of the trip. The handles on his life vest make it much easier to get him back in the kayak! Still, he seems to enjoy the outing.

Griffin our dog in his life vest standing in the kayak (pre fall)
Diamondback water snake (non venomous)
Diamondback water snake (non venomous) photo credit to my eldest
Leech in motion

Metallic Tiger Beetle

Metallic Tiger Beetle

This striking little guy was crawling across the bedroom floor. I think the cat brought him in. After taking his picture, I returned him to the wilds of the back yard. The rainbow shimmer is quite striking!

Squirrel swing

We converted an old mini tire that my eldest found into a squirrel feeder. It looks like a little tire swing! It took about a week for the squirrels to find the nuts we put in, and we didn’t actually see the squirrel until our cat was meowing at us, desperate to go outside. We did not let her out!

Munchings and crunchings in here somewhere

The swing has been great entertainment for everyone.

My dog and cat watching the squirrel
Young squirrel figuring out the feeder

I did mange one video, but it was with my phone from a distance, so blurry. Still funny though!