While in the garden taking pictures, I saw this little green spider crawling around on one of my morning glory flowers – sorta creepy and pretty at the same time. Mostly creepy though.
This might be a green lynx spider which are hunting spiders that spend their lives on plants, flowers and shrubs. Nimble runners and jumpers, they rely on their keen eyesight to stalk, chase or ambush prey.
It’s been a weekend for butterflies in our back yard. Unlike yesterday’s yellow butterfly on purple petals, this golden butterfly among golden petals was a bit more difficult to spot. This is a good example of natural camouflage if I’ve ever seen it.
Verna was in the back yard working today and a little butterfly fluttered into view. She was ready with her camera and got a shot of it (inset in the panorama). This is the back yard as seen from just behind the family room by the chimney.
For several weeks now, this little squirrel has been seen running across the cables on the poles out back and coming into the yard to feed from the bird feeders. It also may be responsible for some damage we see in the garden. This may be the same squirrel we caught in April. As you can see, it’s in the cage of our Havahart trap which had been set for several days prior. It got trapped when Verna threw a piece of her banana in the trap and the little beggar couldn’t resist.
We took it to a park about a mile away and let it go there. I thought that would work, but the very next morning, this squirrel was back chirping and taunting the dog (and Verna). I guess it likes it here.
We plan to get it again and repatriate it to a golf course near my place of business, which should be far enough that it can’t find it’s way back anytime soon. Squirrels – rats with good press agents.
Photo credit: Verna – click for bigger view.
Sometimes I see squirrels foraging around the grounds adjacent to the Manhattan Beach Marriott when I take my after-lunch walks. You might think these are just little cute guys looking for a handout, but in reality, they are a potential menace. Yep — squirrels are like rats — only they have better press agents.
Image: squirrel foraging near Marriott Hotel
From WikiPedia:
Squirrels are often the cause of electricity outages. The animals will enter transformers or capacitors looking for food. The squirrels are then electrocuted and cause a power surge that shorts equipment. Squirrels have brought down the high-tech NASDAQ stock market twice and were responsible for a spate of power outages at the University of Alabama. They will often chew on tree branches to sharpen their teeth but cannot tell the difference between a tree branch and a live power line. Rubber plates are sometimes used to prevent access to these facilities.
Squirrels caused 177 power outages in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1980, which was 24% of all outages. Estimated annual costs were $23,364 for repairs, public relations, and lost revenue. In Omaha, in 1985, squirrels caused 332 outages costing at least $47,144. After squirrel guards were installed over pole-mounted transformers in Lincoln in 1985, annual costs were reduced 78% to $5,148.
For a couple of years, we have been posting about Reggie, the alligator. Now, it appears that he has been relocated to the Los Angeles Zoo. Before the capture, one of my colleagues took this shot of Reggie floating serenely on Lake Machado in the Harbor City District of Los Angeles.
Photo credit & © Des Wong (used by permission)
Life was getting good for Reggie the alligator.
The scaly, 7-foot-long abandoned pet had basked in his own legend on the shores of Machado Lake for nearly two years.
Sightseers by the hundreds came to get a glimpse of the creature that had eluded professional gator wranglers over the months.
But about 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Reggie’s luck simply ran out.
Read the rest of the story about Reggie’s capture (South Bay Breeze):
