Nature Preserve

The natural scenery on the farm is always uplifting for me, and there is always something that draws my attention.  Sometimes it in an unexpected bloom, or the expansive sky, or an animal encounter. I'm always excited to discover something new and I don't think that will ever change.

Case in point, I was walking around the big pond recently and spotted this lone wildflower sprouting in the middle of the path.  Let's not talk about what contortions were necessary to get this picture!

Looking down the big pond

Some encounters are more exciting than others, such as when I met this new friend by the barn.  I didn't mind finding him there because they say if you have rat snakes you won't have venomous snakes. I don't know if that is true, but I'd like it to be.  The problem was that later I didn't see him hanging around - but I didn't know if he'd left or was lurking in the barn.  Hmmm....

Look, I caught a Rattata!
Pokemon reference for the nerds - you know who you are.

Apparently it was snake day on the farm, because later that afternoon Craig started waving me over. I immediately grabbed my camera (aka my phone) because I figured he had spotted a new critter. This time it was a large bird that he'd seen land in one of the tall pines near the front pond.  He took off as soon as we got close, but we got enough of a look to identify him as a snake bird (or water turkey; the official name is Anhinga). That was the first time we'd ever seen one so it was a thrilling moment.  Their name refers to their appearance rather than their diet, unfortunately.  

Not my picture (thanks, Google!)

Tilt your head to the side and squint really hard.  Can you see the resemblance? 

In addition to the elusive cat, numerous lizards, and now possibly a rat snake, we have a zipper spider in residence in the barn.  Her coloring is quite striking and fortunately her web is easy to spot.  She moves around every few days, leaving her old webs to decorate the corners.  I hope she doesn't start leaving notes telling us not to eat the pig.  That would be really weird, especially since we don't even have a pig.

Hello, Charlotte.

Or maybe I should call her Beetlejuice?

I can be blase about Charlotte because she tends to build her nests in out of the way spots that I can't unknowingly blunder into, like I did with one of her cousins.  I was the exact opposite of blase when I looked down and spotted her sitting on my chest.  Impromptu dance party:  raise your hands in the air and wave them like you really, really care!

Our most recent encounter was with this guy, who was a bit early for Halloween.  Once again I have to thank Google for knowing just what I meant when I searched for "big green worm with spikes". This is apparently a Hickory Horned Devil caterpillar, and appearances to the contrary, he's harmless. I didn't know that when I got his close-up though, so I should get some cred for my bravery in wildlife photography.

He sure doesn't look harmless!

Craig already knew he was harmless and therefore
doesn't get any bravery points

After the photo session, Craig very helpfully put Mr. Devil up the trunk of the pecan tree we found him at the base of.  It wasn't until later we realized he was heading to the ground to dig a burrow. Oops!  This devil turns into a Regal or Royal Walnut moth, which can get up to 6 inches across.  I really hope we encounter him again after his transformation.

See you next spring!

It isn't always critters and creepy crawlies.  Sometimes it is just catching the trees at just the right angle that makes me take a moment to appreciate all that we are fortunate enough to have on the farm.

Pine tree cathedral