I found a grass snake in the garden this afternoon. It was sheltering under a compost bin lid which had blown off and landed on the rough grass. I didn't notice it as first as I retrieved the lid and put it back on the bin and could easily have tread on it by accident. I don't know who was the more surprised - me or the snake.
The Tom's persistence finally paid off - one of the hens decided he was a pretty decent specimen worthy of fathering her brood. I wasn't expecting to witness turkey porn first thing this morning, but there you go.
New England, USA
Metacomet soil with hints of Woodbridge and Pillsbury
Peaceful co-existence. This pair were dozing in the raspberry jungle this morning just a few yards from each other. The deer got up for another browse while the fox kept one eye on her but didn't get up.
It is a bit tricky trying to focus through double glazing and all the stems and I couldn't get both in focus in the same shot. Excuses, excuses. It was a lovely thing to see though.
An extraordinary moment well captured @steephill! The branches in the foreground make it feel as though the viewer is actually peeking through the brush to see this amazing sight. Just beautiful.
New England, USA
Metacomet soil with hints of Woodbridge and Pillsbury
I am so, so happy … tonight when my husband walked into our carport he shouted out to me “your swallow is back”.
We moved here in November 2019 and one of the first things we did was remove some horrible plastic netting from the rafters in our carport (the previous owners hated birds and animals!!) and in our first spring here in 2020 swallows built a nest and raised one brood. They have been back every year and raised two broods in both the last two years. It amazes me every year that these little birds fly 6000 miles to South Africa and then back to the same spot. The male normally arrives first, he’s 9 days earlier than last year, and then the female arrives. We get amazing displays in the evenings as groups of swallows swoop over our drive, all twittering and then they all separate and go to their own nests for the night. Here’s a photo of last year’s chicks the day they fledged and spent most of the day perched on my husband’s rowing machine 😁
I love the quokkas on Rottnest, their last stronghold because no predators. How the early seafarers thought they were rats is beyond me. During the day they are out by the lighthouse,under trees, but when the last tourist ferry has gone, they creep into the settlement looking for scraps and water. The main lakes are contaminated with salt, and they need supplies of fresh water. If we were cycling out of the settlement , we would take bottles of water with us, when it was hot we poured it into trays near them to drink from.
Iv got these tawny mining bees in the garden, we get them most years but there is definitely more this year. 😁 As I was taking these pictures 1 bee sat and waited for me to move and when I had, happily flew into her hole. Tawny mining bees can dig around 8 to 12 inches down and have multiple of cells of this shaft. She fills them with pollen and nectar and then lays an egg in them. They visit lots of early flowering plants and love fruit trees and bushes like current and gooseberries. They don’t sting and there little volcanoes will disappear after a few weeks. Definitely a gardeners friend. 🙂
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It amazes me every year that these little birds fly 6000 miles to South Africa and then back to the same spot. The male normally arrives first, he’s 9 days earlier than last year, and then the female arrives.
We get amazing displays in the evenings as groups of swallows swoop over our drive, all twittering and then they all separate and go to their own nests for the night.
Here’s a photo of last year’s chicks the day they fledged and spent most of the day perched on my husband’s rowing machine 😁
Glad I could give you food and some shelter from the rain.
Luxembourg
Tawny mining bees can dig around 8 to 12 inches down and have multiple of cells of this shaft. She fills them with pollen and nectar and then lays an egg in them. They visit lots of early flowering plants and love fruit trees and bushes like current and gooseberries. They don’t sting and there little volcanoes will disappear after a few weeks. Definitely a gardeners friend. 🙂
Failure is always an option.