This dragonfly was busy moulting or being dead or something. It ignored me completely. The intricacies of the pattern on its abdomen are awe-inspiring.
First thing I saw when I hobbled over to my chair & looked out the back window this morning was this hawk, perched on our next door neighbor’s (the Nuns) arbor. iOS photo ID says it’s a Red-Shoulder Hawk so, perhaps. It stayed there for a long time, long enough for me to get my spouse to help me get my camera & long lens out of their case, where they’ve been since I broke my leg a few weeks ago, and snap a few photos.
My 8 year old grandson just built his own haven to help insects survive our harsh Quebec winter. He dug a shallow hole in the ground, mounded up the earth and leaves for insulation and created a brick and log barrier with a break for the insects to walk through 😃 He’s very drawn to the outdoors. If there is such a thing as “Naturalistic Intelligence” (see Gardner, Multiple Intelligences) he’s got it. 😃
Our resident backyard squirrel, Frank, came by & we forgot to leave his daily walnut on our porch. So he knocked on our backdoor window to let us know.
I read that the male Ruby-throated #hummingbirds migrate first, a few weeks ahead of the females. Seems to be the case here as I no longer see the male that was the boss of our backyard feeder, guarding over it from the trees behind our yard. This female has taken over since he left and the other day she was sitting up on this perch, watching over the yard but mostly ignoring me, which made it convenient for me to approach & snap some photos.
This is the second time I’ve found an anole lizard - maybe it’s the same lizard - on the #hummingbird feeder. It has to jump a foot (30 cm) or so across from the wall to get over to it. I thought maybe it’s going after insects that are attracted by the feeder’s sugary liquid, but it looks like it’s licking around the feeder itself. Do lizards have a sweet tooth? 🤔
Finally received some good rains this week, first since early July. Spotted this Ruby-Throated Hummingbird taking a break between showers. He is the boss of our backyard feeder and watches over it vigilantly from these trees behind our yard, swooping in whenever other hummingbirds dare to approach it, usually chasing them off.
The #hummingbirds have returned, this one was in the front garden. We had one (we think it was just one) hanging around through the summer, we’d spot it nearly every day, but now there are several chasing each other around our house. If like last year they’ll stay until the first good cool front of the fall blows through, sending them on their way south. Which, sad to see them go, but we really need that cool front.
My home #weather station temp hit 111 deg F (43.9 C) yesterday, the highest I’ve ever seen here. I’ve recorded 49 days at or over 100 since June 15th. The avg # of days over 100 in Houston is 4. And yet I see posts from local people on the NextDoor app that deny that there’s anything unusual - “climate change is nonsense” MAGA types. Our #BackyardWildlife spend a lot of the time at the birdbath, you can tell this heat is very difficult for them.
The local #squirrels, apparently having run out of other places to bury the peanuts I put out for them, are now digging & putting them in my GreenStalk planter, caught this guy in the act. I have peanut plants sprouting all over my yard & garden.
We surprised each other while I was watering in the back corner of the yard this morning and it zipped back under the fence before I could get a photo but a few moments later it came back and went along the fence for a bit before disappearing back under to the woods behind our property. Posted to a local FB group to confirm the ID but 99% sure it’s a Plain-Bellied Water snake (they are non-venomous). About 3 foot (0.9m) judging by the fence boards.