Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Animal visitors

Today I spent a few hours in our backyard just enjoying being outside. Several animal visitors stopped by, and I managed to get a few photos. They’re not great pictures because I had to use my iPad, which I happened to have outside -- if I’d gone inside for my camera, everyone would have scattered. But I wanted to share them anyway because my animal friends always make me smile.


You have to look closely to see everyone in this photo (sort of like a game of I Spy). Right in front of the tree is a bunny. I think he might live between our garage and our neighbor’s; he’s been hanging around since he was little, and he often bravely ventures out while I’m sitting outside. And he holds his own against the chipmunks in the never-ending battle for the bird food (which is mostly eaten by not birds).

Speaking of the chipmunk, there is one in the photo to the right of the tree, stuffing seeds into his little cheeks at the food dish. They are the most determined little critters. And they make more noise than you would ever think would come out of that little body.

Near the top of the photo, at the left side of the tree, there is a bird sitting on the blue hanging dish. It's nice to actually see a bird at that dish; it seems like more often than not there is a chipmunk parked in there, too.

This giant, fuzzy bumblebee was buzzing around the hostas. It's hard to tell how big he is in this photo, but he was blurry in all the others because, well, he was as busy as a bee!

After I took the first shot, a goldfinch decided to stop at the finch feeder. The goldfinches don't come around too often, so it's fun to see their bright yellow feathers.

I think the only usual critter I didn't get a picture of was a squirrel. They usually chase the chipmunks away from the food, but they were scarce tonight.

Edited to add:
I took the following picture in early July, but I never posted it. I decided to add it to this post so you can get a better look at the chipmunk. (Or more accurately, one of the chipmunks, as there are often three or four chasing each other around the yard.)



Enjoying the backyard was a relaxing way to spend some time after work. I hope you have some time to relax, too. Thanks for stopping by!

4 comments:

Sunshine said...

Gorjuss cute critters! For the life of me I can not see the bunny:-( I could see the chipmunk, and the 2 birds, but the bunny eludes me! Maybe he blends in too well with the foliage!
If you like watching the wild life, check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFCBLU_yftc this 24/7 live video on youtube. It's really good! I watch it all the time!
Sunshine
ihearttostamp.blogspot.com

Andrea said...

That little guy is really hard to see - he's right in the middle of the base of the tree by the leaves. He's looking toward the camera, so you can really only see his face. Wish I had a better picture! I checked out that web cam after I saw it on your blog, but it was late evening, so only the foxes were out. I'll have to try it another time to watch all the critters. :)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful backyard! I feel more relaxed even though just looking at the picture. It took me a bit to find the chipmunk - but finally spotted him. We have mainly bunnies and squirrels. We've let the milkweed grow and have seen a few Monarch butterflies this year - wish there were more around. And reading the post reminded me I need to fill the bird feeder!
Thanks for sharing the great pictures!
Judy

Anonymous said...

Sunshine - thanks for sharing the video link - very cool!
Judy