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| "Our" Critters |
| One of the things we love about where we live is the wild menagerie that shares the property with us. Here are some of the birds and animals we see everyday. The ones that we think we've identified have been labelled. |
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| The quail are arguably our favorite "neighbor" birds. With their black topknots, these plump birds look a bit like sumo wrestlers, but they act more like Barney Fife. Very skittish, they will spook at the slightest sound, but that's part of what makes them such good parents. We have several families of quail, ranging from bitty babies to nearly grown young that we can barely distinguish from the adults. It's fun to watch them parade about, looking for food. It's not unusual to have to stop the car as a single file of quail march across the road. |
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| An unkindness of ravens circles overhead; we've heard these ebony pranksters imitate everything from human whistling to a siren. |
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| When it's over 100 degrees out, any bit of shade attracts a lounger like this cottontail. Both the bunnies and the squirrels especially like to stretch out to enjoy the cool earth on their bellies. |
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| Not long after we moved in, Carolyn looked out the back window one day and thought, "What is that rabbit eating?" He had found an old mop and was happily munching the cotton strands. |
| To watch a snippet of video of Carolyn's comical "chickens," click here. |
| Animals we've seen but of which we haven't gotten a passable photo include scorpions, rattlesnakes, and coyote. We've heard there are mountain lions in the area, too, but we haven't seen one of those yet! |
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