Critters of Summer

OK, I admit it – I’m a critter junkie.  One of my greatest pleasures in life is watching God’s Critters.  I’m not fussy about what kind of critters, sparrows and eagles are all the same to me.  I even like watching hornets and yellow jackets – from a safe distance with binoculars of course but enjoy watching them none the less.

Its been a very good year for Critters too.  The rabbits have been much in evidence in the yard, mostly in the clover patches near the forsythia hedge.

The Praying Mantis hatched as usual at the end of May on the iris near the driveway and on the white pines.  They’re only about 3/8 of an inch long when they hatch.

By mid-July they’re right around 2 inches long.  At this point they disperse all around my yard and are much harder to find.  Probably much harder for hungry birds to find too.  By late August they will have wings and be ready to breed.

This is the 2nd turtle to visit my yard this year.  There are around half a dozen individuals that pop up in my yard from time to time.  I generally find them in the back yard when I check it before I mow.

This is a male Five-lined skink, Eumeces fasciatus, just over 6 inches long.  I’ve seen these in my back yard around the Norfolk pine stump, but these year he was very much in evidence on the wood pile just outside my kitchen door.  His orange colored head means its breeding season.

There were also 2 females in evidence; one about a half inch shorter then the male and one about 4.5 inches the long with a stubby tail.  The 3 Kitchen Skinks were very much in evidence from late April until Memorial Day Weekend, then they disappeared.  Stubby Tail had regrown most of her tail when I last saw her.

Then in mid July 6 to 8 of these little fellows showed up in the wood pile and on my kitchen porch.  When I first saw them they had about an inch of body and an inch and a quarter of tail.  I guess the mating went well.   A big male is also again in evidence around the Norfolk stump.

This nice little lady was in my yard when I came back from a grocery store run.  There have been an higher than usual number of deer tracks in the mud along the woods line too.  However, the deer seem to have seriously chowed down on the jewel weed that grows at the back of my yard.  So I haven’t been able to see as many hummingbirds this summer.  The Hummers really really like jewel weed.