I’ve raised preying mantis before, but never expected to see one show up on the very top of my indoor water hydrant. He posed very eloquently for me as I took photos; even the flash didn’t scare him. He stayed on that exact spot for six hours. Talk about determination!
For the past three years, the same mating pair of barn swallows have migrated from South America to my barns, where they raise between two and three broods per season. When the babies leave the nest their wings don’t always work right, so I’m careful when moving around. The three in the upper left photo (Huey, Dewey, and Louie) seem pretty matter of fact about their surroundings, while Mom and Dad watch from the top rail of the fence.
Deer seem to like the horse’s pasture as well. It’s not uncommon to see them out feeding in late afternoon while I’m doing chores. They casually ignore me while I go about my activities.
Great Blue Heron live along the creek and enjoy catching the small fish and frogs. I had never seen one land on top of my security light and thought it was pretty neat, so I ran to the house to get my camera. The Heron stayed perched even though I was only about 100 feet away. It stayed on its lookout for about a half hour.
Snapping turtles are not an uncommon sight. They show up to lay eggs in sand or rock piles along the creek. One year, in late August, I was lucky enough to witness hundreds of baby snapping turtles hatching from a large sand pile. They instinctively knew which way the creek was and were heading in a line toward the water. I spent the better part of an afternoon scooping up babies and walking them to the edge of the tall grass to make sure the crows wouldn’t decimate the entire clutch. What an amazing event!