This wasp (I'm assuming wasp by the waist) has built a very tiny home in the handle of our deck umbrella. From observations it appears to only show up in the early evening and doesn't stay around very long. It enters through a small hole, does something in there and then leaves.
The other photo is of a red squirrel with some type of egg(?) attached to it.
The squirrel looks like it has a bot fly larva in it. You can google for pictures of them.
The wasp is a potter/mason wasp (subfamily Eumeninae in the Vespidae); it appears to be in the genus Ancistrocerus, see http://bugeric.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-to-almost-catch-leaf-tier.html for an example.
Fascinating information and creatures. Thank you both for the information.
