Our Backyard

We have some new critters in our back yard. We now have a pair of Eastern Box Turtle that live by the pool. They will probably stay, as I feed them daily, they love hotdogs. In this picture the female has wandered off about a 100 feet from her spot near the pool. I took her picture went into  the house for a minute or two and went I went back out she was in her old spot by the pool, ready for lunch!

   Every year about this time we get a new crop of toads, they start out less than a 1/2 inch, but grow quickly. When I first see them I know that just a day or so ago they were still tadpoles, and that they were probably in a bole of a tree where water is trapped, but search as I may I can never find them as tadpoles.

   The Cardinals are our favorite bird in the yard, they are year round residents and are seen daily in the trees and in the bird feeder. The male is resplendent in his flaming reds feathers, the female a rather dull brown. You always see the male first and then find the female. However she may not be flashy, but she is the apple of his eye. When the are feeding, he will stop eating, find an especially juicy seed and hop over to her and place it in her mouth, he will do this over and over.  We have watched this many many times and still find it fascinating.