triplets this year
Wild in the woods
Native water llily
Girl, you are making us all jealous!!! Those raccoons are adorable, wish they weren't so destructive, and the lilies are amazing,
makes you want to walk out there and touch them, but better not, there might be some surprises underneath.
Josephine.
That water does look inviting though.
Awwwwww. How cute your friends are......and awesome water lilies.
Twins....the drought is so bad the animals are trying to find some water at our ponds which are also really low.....The plants in the foreground suffering are Madame Slocum lotus..
The fishing birds are having a feast since the water is so low
The usually elusive Painted Bunting also searching for water
The little fox comes right up on the porch to beg for food. Lazy I guess, there is plenty of small prey here. No need for her to be hungry.
The heat hasn't stopped the spider from weaving his beautiful web
What cool photos! I can't get close enough for such neat photos but have bittersweet feelings as I watch the wildlife come out in desperation for water.
OTOH, glad we are able to provide. Tonight I watched a young buck browse along the dam and on a whim, he jumped into the pond and swam across. I know it felt good as he frisked around when he got out of the water. He left when another large doe arrived at the pond. I have never seen so many deer at our water before.
I love the painted bunting photo ~ nice!
How nice it is to share my joy with someone who knows it well....thank u
Podster, most of my wildlife photos are taken thru the east facing windows of my living area facing a pond. I envy you..nothing could swim in my front pond just now..the big blue heron was spotted eating up my goldfish yesterday....he was in the center of a 1/2 acre pond but only knee deep......This pic was taken the first of the month since then the water is about half gone
What a beautiful spot and how frustrating to not be able to provide what the wildlife has been dependent upon.
I am sorry about your loss of goldfish to the blue heron. I love those birds. We had one many years ago that wintered at our pond. He could only use one leg. If I went down there, he flew to the yard and sat and waited. Then would fly back to the dam. Every winter, he comes back. His leg has healed but he must feel safe here. He is always alone and always welcome.
Our pond is not large nor as attractive but a few years back, we had it deepened. It is now 8-10 feet deep but small and only filled by runoff rainwater. It has dropped about 3 feet. Perhaps having less surface area is preventing as much evaporation. Many here have lost the water in their ponds too. It fascinates me to look at the various tracks in the mud around it. Lots of critters are dependent upon it now.
Love your photos. We are getting a lot of animals desperate right now. Our new pond was dug to about 20' and we have lost over half the depth. We dug out the old pond several years ago and I noticed one of my LGD's walking it yesterday. We actually had a pair of Ibis's earlier in the week. I have never seen any here before. We have absolutely no butterflies even though we provide. It is so great to see all your wildlife. Because we have LGD's to protect our sheep, we don't get very many four footed animals, but I have seen many varieties of birds this year that are taking advantage of the water and feed I have in my garden.
The pond pictured is only 6ft deep or less when it's full. Down now to 2 to 3 ft. Some of my other 4 ponds are deeper and a couple are bog dry just now. Being in the woods I have many pairs of birds. Lots of blue heron, ibis, kite, red shouldered hawks, king fishers, are the fish eaters along with several I am unable to recall their names. This place is isolated 40 acres , we keep no pets or children and try to discourage our neighbors from visiting with theirs (pets) . We get around the place on golf carts because they are quiet. It's like Disney in the woods. From the porch we feed songbirds and fox and racoon and squirrel, opossum, sometimes all will be eating at the same time in the afternoons and early evenings. We just throw food scraps and chopped corn mixed with sunflower seed directly on their ground. The loss of goldfish is not really a big deal, we have the bigger ones in a deeper pond and the small ones can be replaced from a bait shop at $5 pr pound.
The ironweed is blooming all in the wildflower meadow just now. Even it suffers in the drought.
Beautiful shots! Love your wildlife.
Love the Painted Bunting photo. They are common in this area, but don't come into my neighborhood. I make it a point to fill the bird baths every evening when I get home. The drought isn't as bad here in the Dallas area as it is elsewhere around the state (yet), but the birds do enjoy a cool dip during these hot days.
Carla