poor squirrels just can't catch a break!

Awesome pics of the raven, Kurt.

My squirrels do not go hungry for a moment. They get all sorts of seeds that the birds spill, plus they have the "overflow" net under the big feeder to snack from. If you let them get to the feeders, the birds don't get any seeds.

I'm joking about the squirrel being a poor thing. Around here, even the chickens will chase them away when they try to get their food.

But they don't look like they're going hungry!

Picture taken in February...

Awesome photos everybody...and for the acrobat squirrel movies playing in my head. Your Raven photos look spooky Kurt.

Great photos, Kurt. Almost look like silhouettes. Now I'll have that Edgar Allan Poe poem stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

I was thinking about Poe and the word "spooky" came to mind, too! Great minds think alike!

The fattest squirrels I've ever seen are on the UPenn campus in Philadelphia. It took me months to get used to them jumping out of the trash cans on the way to class. They had no fear of people. One climbed on a bench and tried to get at my dorm mate's doughnut! Their little bellies would drag the ground. Even my dad, who has seen and hunted many a squirrel, was amazed at how fat they were.

I'm sending Dad on a mission to HD or Lowe's to get potting soil and some hardware to secure my landscaping timbers. If I mention Super Lube, I'm going to have to prepare myself for some terrible jokes.

Kurt, I feel for the poor wet raven - that's what my hair looks like when it rains too.

This is certainly not in the bird, butterfly or bee category but I caught a turtle in the midst of laying her eggs.

One of the great things about these forums is folks capturing animal and insect behavior that many others miss. Cynthia, your turtle is magnificent! Thanks for getting a photo of that!

How cool, Cindy! It's amazing what they can do just using their hind legs and not even looking

Thanks!!!

The same day I found the turtle I also saw a garter snake in my daylily bed. I didn't have my camera ready at the time and it went into a tree stump.

Nice capture, Hemlady!

I saw a garter snake the other day too... at least I think it was a garter snake. It looked more black with a yellow stripe but in the picture it looks blue.

I kinda like the snake blue, it's a good look.

Way cool Cindy!!!

That's one purdy garter snake Christine. Really nicely composed photo.

Late last summer while doing some weeding, I reached down and almost grabbed a garter snake. Bout wet my pants.

I am not terribly afraid of snakes, but grabbing one is another matter. hehe

Another time I grabbed a HUGE skin - must have been from a Bull snake or similar as it was HUGE! > 4 feet long. Not near as scary though as nearly grabbing a live one.

Here's todays butterfly pic. That Budleia is one I grew from seed last year. I had no idea how fast it would grow, it bloomed first year. I got like six bushes from the 10 seeds I planted, they are all purple or neon pink.

Dee

A few years ago I grew some "red" BB from seeds. Planted in Feb and they bloomed by July.
The two are my earliest growers and are ~ 4 ' high already.

I really wouldn't mind if the garter snake stayed in my flower beds, just not any poisonous snakes. We really only have one poisonous snake in Michigan, the Massasagua Rattlesnake, and they are in the forests. I sure don't know if I spelled that right.

Thought I better post a bird picture before Melanie wakes up and finds out we've been out of control again.

Pheobe - my bestest garden friend.