Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar  (Lophocampa caryae)

And yet again I'm down on the ground taking a picture when a neighbor walks by  :)  ["Hi Cecilia."]

Spike Horn

430 p.m.  Spike horn having an afternoon nibble.  

Like it when he eats the weeds!

Great Spangled Fritillary

A very weary looking Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) visiting our pink Buddlea.

Turkey Hen chase Cat

About 5 p.m. this evening, a mother turkey with poult in tow shows how to run off an interloper.

(Poor photo quality due to these being screen grabs from our security camera.)

Bedraggled fox

Around 9:45 a.m. a bedraggled fox was in the neighborhood.  

These pics are taken from our security camera.

What isn't seen in the pictures is the group of 5 male turkeys just on the other side of the driveway watching the fox.  

Nor can be heard the group of birds -- crows, bluejays, etc -- calling frantically from nearby trees.

Woolly Bear

WOOLLY BEAR !

Down on the ground for this pic too --  Only this time a neighbor caught me in the act.  :)   ["Hi Kay."]

Mama and baby turkey still running about.  

(Laid down on the front lawn to get this video.)

Mama deer nursing 2 fawns.  Look closely to see the two tails wagging.  

(Sorry, video had to be short so I could transfer it from my ipad.)

Skunk

Set a trap to see who's been digging at the play-yard fence -- got a skunk.  (Video is a bit shaky as I was crouching down to get the shot.)

Baby Catbird

Baby Catbird perched on a rock after fledging early this morning.  

[Its nest was in the same Eastern Hemlock from which I evicted a nest of bees back on July 23, 2018.  That tree is like an apartment complex.  We'll see how the Hemlock does after I trim it back hard once everyone moves out.  Been waiting to trim it for some time now.]

A nice morning to lounge in the sun.

While across the street, one doe with 4 fawn.

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Apparently baby deer aren't the only ones to get stuck on the opposite side of a fence from their mom.

Later, happily togther.

Cicada Shell

Found this abandoned exoskeleton (exuviae) of a cicada while weeding the garden.

While a Yellow-shafted Flicker explored the yard.

Mystery vine in the garden is finally starting to fruit......might be cantaloupe or honeydew melon?
(Update from mid-September:  It's a cantaloupe.  And tasty too!!)

Hot Squirrel

Yet another squirrel resting on the perch on a hot humid day.

With the humidity and the rain we're getting mushrooms.

A very small Green Stink Bug nymph visited our backdoor.

Tried to record katydids, crickets, and lacewings singing in the backyard, but also got the golf-course "fountain" and a train whistle.

  

Another day, another nest of bees.  

This nest is in an Eastern Hemlock just North of the other nest I got rid of about 9 days ago.

  

Nothing like a nest of bees to slow down a job pruning.  This nest was at a high-traffic area in a bush on our front walk just by the porch.  Luckily no one got stung before I discovered it. 
[Luckily I heard their increased buzzing and got away before they got me :)]

Monarch / Hail

Yesterday, I saw our first Monarch Butterfly of the season -- feeding on a Purple Cone Flower.

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Came across a brief clip of Hail we had 2 years ago, July 11, 2016 @ 3:45 pm.  Pretty cool.

Poults

230 pm  --  Female turkey with 3 poults passed through our yard.

Moth on the kitchen window during our 4th of July party.

Baby House Wrens fledged this morning around 630 am
(The odd sounds are from the dishwasher. -- The wren house is just outside our kitchen window.)

Midday June 28, 2018

Turkeys trying to dry out after a thundershower -- 2 strutting, 2 preening, and 2 sprawling on the lawn.  [Hard to see, but the 2 on the right, sprawled like feathered lumps, must be exhausted.]

American Goldfinch

Male and Female American Goldfinch Breakfasting at the Thisle-Feeder.

FATHER'S DAY 2018

Daddy House Wren singing near his house that holds some teeny chicks and some eggs yet to hatch.

Pappa Downy Woodpecker teaching 2 young'uns about a suet feeder.

Typical rainy day.

A House Wren perches quietly on her egg filled house.

A Grey Squirrel enjoys scratching himself on a salvaged log while a Downy Woodpecker forages at the suet feeder.

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And as usual, a baby fawn has gotten itself stuck on the opposite side of the golf-course fence from its mother.

Toad / Chipmunk

I dug up a wee toad while putting in the garage garden,

while a chipmunk perched on the patio Holly Bush.

Male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak and a Downy Woodpecker 

at the feeders today.

Cooper's Hawk having a Mourning Dove for breakfast this morning.  

He was back by the stone wall so the photos aren't the best.  

The video is very rough because I shot it through my binoculars' lens.

About 815 pm

Blue Moon behind scudding clouds left-over from today's rain.
Faintly peepers can be heard down at the pond.

Snowdrops

4pm

Snowdrops over the wall in the woods.

545 am

Just took a walk around the house.  Crisply 30 degrees, still dark with a starry sky.  Way off towards the Dutchess Golf Course a fox is calling.  Down at the pond a couple geese can be heard, and the peepers have faintly started.

7 am

Hawk calling while eating breakfast in my mother's White Pine behind our house. 

 I can't tell if it's a red tailed hawk or an accipiter.

The first video is just for the audio.  

The second video, while not good, does show breakfast before take-off. 

Mid-winter tis time for crows.  Cracked-corn picnic.

6 point buck (possibly 8, but the base tines may be a bit short of an inch) getting up from a rest over the back wall.  In the brief video, he's running toward where a button buck just came into the front yard.

Deer

Early morning lawn ornament --

Painted Lady Butterfly on end of season Zinnia.  

Male Cabbage White Butterfly on purple Aster.

Some flowers still vibrant the day after the Autumnal Equinox.

Praying Mantis

4pm
Gorgeous sunny 82 degrees.  An assertive praying mantis was none too happy at me opening our garage door, thus disturbing its peaceful sunbath. (Since the video isn't playing on all browsers I'll add a still-snap after it -- but the video is more expressive.  I like when the mantis stamps its foot.)

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Just have to amend this post with one more photo.  Too cool seeing the mantis upright, ready to battle.  This is the correct orientation for the photo -- check out the keys hanging from the doorknob.

Turkey Vulture omen

515 pm   My brother caught this pic of a turkey vulture perched on our back swing.
                        [For those of us who appreciate omens.....our father died at our house the next day.]

Fawn -- close encounter

Tis the season for fawns.  Heard this one calling around 1:40 pm this afternoon -- caught on the opposite side of the fence from its mom.  Guess it thought I might have the answer.

May 6, 2016  Around 5:15 pm  

A wee red fox crossing the road on her way to our backyard to hunt chipmunks.  Saw her crouching near the hibachi -- right where chipmunks are always hiding.

The middle of Winter --
Last night's low = 47.  Today's high = 59 (and 1" of rain).  At 8:30 pm tonight = 55.9 with a light warm Southern breeze.  Just delicious!  [Our average high for February is 38.]

Went for my walk for the first time in a very long time.  Snuck out just before 7 am for 10 minutes.  Temp 18.  Windchill 0.  Nippy and windy but invigorating.  Dusting of snow.  If not for the covering of salt on the road there would be lots of black-ice; as is, the pavement is wet with some rivulets to the gutters.  Not much moving -- just the usual winter crows calling as they set out from the city's warmth.

dead Hermit Thrush

Wee Hermit Thrush -- Such a sweet song silenced -- Apparently flew into the garage windows on a perfect sunny 55 degree Autumn day.

On Sunday October 18, 2015 around 1 pm we had a snow shower!  Pretty cool.

Groundhog

Groundhog contentedly surveying the yard from a perch on the bench out back on September 4, 2015.

Praying Mantis

While harvesting green beans today, I had a little company -- in the form of a brown praying mantis.