Flora and Fauna

Our yard is bursting with colour and with an unexpected array of animal life. Now, some of the critters we see are fine by me--they are welcome to scurry about around my house as long as they stay out of it--these include squirrels, amazing birds (robins, cardinals, chickadees!), and even our funny groundhog (see picture below). I like those guys. The deer and rabbits are ok as long as they don't eat the flowers. But then there are strange or yuckie critters: the wild turkey startled me this week while I was chatting to Matthew by phone on his lunch break. This turkey was HUGE! And very close. And very loud. Then, the bright red tick I found walking along the deck. I HATE ticks. Hate them. The one pictured here is now dead (sorry if that offends anyone out there). It was a brilliant hue but it had to go. And then the snake. This guy has crossed my path--like that anthropocentric viewpoint, MY path? Actually I have disturbed this snake three times, twice nearly stepping on it. I'm trying to make myself feel better by imagining that it is the same snake each time, but it may not be. The one in the picture seems bigger than the one Noah discovered two weeks ago.

So we have lots of wildlife around. None of it domestic. So far though, not too many insects in the house, and that makes me glad. The flora though, that I bring in! We have Crocus, daffodils, paperwhites, irises, violets, grape hyacinth, bleeding hearts, hellebore, wisteria, jasmine, azalea, bradford pear, forsythia, regular hyacinth, and a bunch more that I can't identify. I've attached a handful of pics below!!

Alright, I need to go--Abby needs a ride to school, Noah wants to watch a show, and I am in my pjs (a common state at 8 am just before driving Abby to school...) Here we go! Enjoy the pics.

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Originally uploaded by gennabby.