Critters

I've been meaning to mention our recent wildlife spottings. Most likely the rain is washing them out of their normal warrens. Last month on the way into work I saw a rather wet looking porcupine munching on a neighbor's lawn. Faith saw it near there a few days later. I've been wondering if their rambunctious puppy has discovered it as well?

Two days ago I looked out the back porch window (the back dooryard, for you New Englanders) and a little black thing went zipping across the lawn. Mink, weasel, snake in a sweater? Tink was on the porch in her bird watching position so I'm not sure if she saw it. A couple hours later Zeke and I were driving down Poverty Lane and ran into a flock of Turkeys by the police station (take that however you like). Some big ol' Toms, strutting about, oblivious to the cars gawking at them.

Then there was this little fella. After an evening's walk with Faith and Zeke I swung by to check out our berry plants and found this "growth" clinging to a grape vine. Really, at first I thought it was some kind of strange growth (it was getting dark). It didn't really seem to notice us at all, just sitting there looking like a young Grandpa Munster. I didn't think we ought to bring it inside and Faith refused to regurgitate worm for it, so there it stayed. The next morning I checked and it had moved a few feet over to another roost.

And wasps, lots and lots of wasps. There are two varieties this year: yellow jackets and a big black and white bumble bee looking thing which may or may not be a wasp but lives in a paper nest all the same. The big black one's haven't bitten anyone yet, just a few near ear fly-bys that scared the crap out of me. Meanwhile the yellow jackets are spreading everywhere. Early this year I hung up some dried and hollowed out gourds in the hopes that birds would use them for nesting. Yesterday we found one of them jam packed full of wasp nest.

There are three wasps if you count the one that visited me in the muddy pond the other day. That one looked like German engineering, sleek and narrow, about two inches long, sort of like this. Seemed to be testing out the mud.

Finally, an update. Remember that little bee-like thing I posted a photo of a few weeks ago? Well, Sensiti has some really nice photos of it, it's a hoverfly.

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