Hunkering Down During a Middle of the Night Rain Storm

 
I like this picture because the dark background makes the tree overhead stand out and contrasts with the other green vegetation. We did have some bad storms recently, which was a good thing because it was getting to be drought-like. The poor deer look like they aren't enjoying the shower, the way their heads are down. By zooming in, I see momma has a good supply of milkie, so I'm sure they nestled down somewhere and tried to get cozy for a while.

Who Says Raccoons Are Dirty Animals?

 
I'd say this raccoon is pretty smart and clean. The compost can get pretty sloppy, put this coon is smart enough to keep his rear up on the stumps out of the muck while he forages for some tasty vittles. Actually, he'd have to eat one handed if his legs were on the stump the whole time. His back end could have just been on the stump for the instant the camera took the picture, but I'm trying to improve the reputation of raccoons around here.

Running Fox

 
Judging from his body language, with ears perked up, and going at a good pace with his front paw off the ground, I'd say this fox is about to cross the road. At 10:30 p.m., it's likely no cars were coming.

Bambi Chews on Leaf

 
Look at the pattern of her spots. Isn't she just lovely?

Bambi Explores New Smells

 

Red Shouldered Hawk

I've seen a red shouldered hawk twice in the past couple of days. The first time it was late afternoon and it was flapping around in the woods. I didn't see what it was after. Early this evening it was sitting on a fence and preening its belly feathers.

Not One, But Two Bambis!

 

Bambi Returns

 
 
Apparently the compost pile is like a rest stop on the interstate, for Bambi and Mom. You can see him leaping over the logs surrounding the compost pile.

Mamma and Bambi Visit Compost Pile

 
 
 
These pictures were pretty exciting. I'd say I hit the jackpot with the picture of the spotted fawn. In the first picture I thought the doe's tummy looked kind of droopy, probably from giving birth recently. Is that spotted fawn the cutest thing you've ever seen, or what? Also visible is the doe's teat, which I'm sure the little guy appreciates having nearby.

Raccoon Visits Compost Pile

 
 
I expected raccoons, of course. I think this is the same raccoon in both shots, based on the time the pictures were taken. It looks like a young male to me.

Compost Visitor Number Three

 
At first I thought this fox had pounced on something, but it is just standing on the logs leaning down.

Another Visitor to the Compost PIle

 
This is probably one of the best squirrel pictures I've ever gotten. So I'm rather pleased with my new camera location. You'll soon see why...

New "Set"

 
I purposely put my new compost pile near a tree so I could see what's eating the kitchen waste. Here's the first picture I got.

Tree Identification

 
Our yard has so many tree seedlings that I've considered going into business selling them-mostly oaks, a few maples, a couple hollies, and magnolias. If I don't know what something is, I let it grow until I figure out what it is and whether it's a good thing or bad thing. (In the case of our invasive vines--bad thing). Now that we experienced a tree nearly smashing our house, I'm more prone to wanting to cut down the seedlings before they get too well established. I noticed a bunch of new seedlings popping up, and decided to figure out what it was. I found a good website which leads me to believe this is a tulip poplar. The VTreeID website says these can grow to be over 100 feet tall. I don't think I like the idea of 100 foot trees growing within 20 feet of our house.

Invasive Species or Dinner Side Dish?

 
We have plenty of poke in our yard. Last year I let it grow out of control, noticed it had red berries and thought maybe something would like to eat it. Then after the winter all these dead branches were left which weren't too visually appealing and not very fun to get rid of. Camera Trap Codger identified it as poke. This spring I decided I would stomp on them so I wouldn't have to remove the branches later on. Well, that got old as the days wore on because they just kept growing back and after finding a deer tick on my toddler, I didn't really feel like traipsing through the pachysandra anymore. I had a vague recollection that my dad said they were edible. So I googled it and found this link. Apparently cooking it up like greens can cause "bad guts". I think I'll pass.

Will You Accept This Rose?

 
Okay, so that's a joke for any of you Bachelor or Bachelorette fans out there. ;) This rose has unfortunately been accepted by Japanese beetles, which explains why the leaves are holey.

What's Growing Out of Control

 
 
 
 
Most of our gardening woes are due to our yard being under attack by invasive vines. We recently had a bunch of vines removed, and these (insert expletive) grow back at the rate of like 6 inches a day. The vines are all criss crossing over and under the ground, and if left to grow at their own devices, will take on a jungley appearance up in the trees. Using the heavy duty clippers is enough to give me achey shoulders for a week, and the ticks love to hang out there in the jungle. Maybe in the fall we'll be able to get this under control...until next season when it will surely assault our yard again and gain new territory.

What's Not Growing So Well

 
 
On the north side of the house, not much grows. I planted a hydrangea which is looking pretty pathetic, and creeping jenny, which looks like something is eating it. So I finally got smart and decided to buy shade loving plants. I've actually tried planting shade loving plants there from seed, which never took off. It's kind of depressing though going to a local garden center, seeing all these beautiful flowering plants, and the only thing you can buy are these rather puny boring looking shade loving things. I bought Irish moss, autumn fern, and a hosta. I am debating whether to plant them in the ground or pots.

What's Growing In My Garden

 
 
Finally something I planted from seed seems to be growing. The little buds are wildflowers. Whether they will ever amount to anything by the end of the season remains to be seen. The taller plant is in the general vicinity where I planted the pumpkin seeds, but this looks more like tomatoes to me, which I did not plant, but I do compost tomatoes.

What's Growing

 
 
 
The berries are starting to turn red. Unfortunately I saw some white powdery stuff on one of the branches, which we've had in the past on various plants which isn't a good thing. The lily looks pretty photogenic although I've never really been that fond of them. The Virginia creeper is creeping nicely over the lattice.

Tadpole

 
The tadpoles are coming along nicely, but they are hard to see with all the duckweed.