Creatures, Great and Small..........

There are so many facets to gardening. There are the obvious - plants, flowers, garden ornaments and more.  Another, which I enjoy so much - wildlife. Today I am showing some sightings from my garden.

 

I have always liked dragonflies but since living here my interest and love for these creatures has increased greatly.

 

 

The coloring of dragonflies can differ so much. Some, like the above one, can look almost metallic.

 

 

Some have bright, bright color.

 

 

There are 3,600 species. They need warmth to fly and often land when the sun is behind a cloud.  They range in size from 1" to 5".  I haven't seen one quite 5" but some almost that big.  They lay their eggs in water and it takes 3-5 weeks for them to hatch. One reason I love to have them in my yard is because they eat mostly mosquitos. They have a life span of a year or slightly older.

 

Before posting I always review and try to correct mistakes. I found I had put "from 1" to 5' for the size range. Thank heavens I noticed that.  I'm not sure I would want to see a 5 foot long dragonfly!!

 

 

Another familiar sight that I love.  Squirrels are very interesting to watch and interact with. We have three species in Florida but the Eastern Gray is the one I see.  The other two are the Fox Squirrel and Southern Flying.  They love Oaks and hickory trees. I have both of those.

 

 

One of the many types of birds that I see and one of my favorites - Cardinals.

 

 

 

 

Several kinds of butterflies visit.  This White Peacock is not seen as often as some of the others.  They are among the easiest to photograph. They spend a lot of time sitting on the ground which makes about all my pictures look the same. This picture is placed out of order but, I am not taking time to locate it again so it can just hang out with the birds.

 

.

 

Even though it has a red head I don't think this is the Red Headed Woodpecker but, can't think of it's name.

 

 

One of the biggest birds to visit - a wild turkey.  I see them almost daily.

 

 

The Hawks are not my favorites. They are intimidating to me! Maybe it is because I have heard reports of them landing on people and one dropped a snake on a friend one time.  But, they have their good qualities too, I suppose.

 

 

This one IS a favorite but I seldom see the Swallow-tailed Kite down low enough to get a picture.  I was lucky this day. I believe, scientifically they are in the hawk family.

 

 

 

I almost never use pictures on my blog that I haven't taken myself, but this is an exception.  I wanted you to see the beauty of the kite with wings spread.  They soar so gracefully. I just love to see them.

 

 

This is one of my older pictures since I haven't been able to get a recent one although I see them often. Love hummingbirds! A few weeks ago, one played with the water I was spraying in this same area. They love this type of Salvia - Wendy's Wish.

 

What a surprise last week when I saw four Peahens, the female of the Peafowl.  They were across the street in my neighbor's yard.

You will notice that Carol has a "stick bird" in her yard also.

 

 

Although it was kind of neat to see them, I sure hope they don't become plentiful in my neighborhood.  They get so noisy and are very messy. 

 

I have several more types of wild things that hang out here including a bear. I haven't seen it but one was sighted on a nearby street and I have seen signs that made me think it was in my yard. Would like to see it just long enough to get a picture.

~~~~~~~

                       Until next time, I thank you for visiting and hope you come back soon.