Critters On The Property, And Some Of Them Are Cute…

There’s always something interesting to watch from our deck. We’re not sure how it happened, but this doe has four babies that follow her everywhere. I have to wonder if some of their mothers are gone and they’ve banded together. However it happened, I’m glad they’re on the Carrell Wildlife Preserve.

Other critters are tiny and adorable. This praying mantis was perfectly content to sit and watch me while I was watching him. Either that or I scared him stiff. He did go hopping off when I set him down. That’s a good sign, right?

I’ve always thought dragonflies were magical, especially the ones that hover around our ponds. Their glass-like wings reflect light and and add sparkle to the property. Right now they’re fluttering around this end of the big pond so we can see them really well, making swirls and ripples on the water.

This guy’s been hanging around the pond, too. He’s very skittish and will flop over into the water at every little sound or movement. Right before this picture, his neck was stretched out twice this long, but then he heard me coming and got concerned. Sometimes there are even three or four of them on this log, stacked up like Legos.

And there are a few turkeys wandering around, back and forth over the levee and up and down the ridge. They are super nervous, though, and run at the slightest movement or noise. Needless to say, they don’t particularly like the puppies. So we just sit and relax while waiting for the next wave of wildlife comes through.