Tina over at  My Gardener Says...

has started a new meme.

She's hosting 

Wildlife Wednesday, 

the first Wednesday of each month.

We have a lot of wildlife here.

From tiny bugs, to large four-legged critters.

There is always an abundance of wildlife.

We're never without the ever present deer.

Among the other four-legged creatures....

This little possum was in the cat's bed, on the porch.

And, the battle with the squirrels continues.

As it does with the raccoons.  Sorry, no photos of them or the armadillos.

There are lots of birds....

Cardinals, and Titmouse (is more than one Titmouse, Titmice?)

and lots of Sparrows....and, more.

A Green Heron, thinking he's hiding.

And this month, we've seen more of the Egytian Geese around.

I think maybe they've decided this might be a good place to live.

And the very efficient clean-up guys...

Black and Turkey Vultures. 

And, this guy wasn't in our garden.

But, we've seen them around here.

This one was in Lake Texana, east of Victoria.

Our daughter and family are camping there, 

and we went down to spend the day.

We didn't see any of the alligators.

But, that's ok. 

 At least we don't have alligators here.

I'll have more to show you next month.

Be sure to visit Tina, and see what others have to show.

What kind of wildlife do you have in your garden?

***********

'Til later...

Take care..

~~Linda~~

It's been a while, since I posted.

It's been busy around here.

Lots of weeding and cleaning up, getting ready for Spring.

We had some out-of-town guests, and took them over to see 

The Painted Churches.

Then we ended up in Gruene, for an early dinner.
Can't go there, without going to Gruene Hall.

We had this little guy come into the yard, one morning.
He was acting a bit strange.  Not aggressive...just like he felt bad.
He rested a while and then went off.  We thought he was ok.
Later, Animal Control (I wasn't even aware we HAD Animal Control here) came.
They went down to the creek with a cage.  Then they came back up with him inside.
I'm hoping they helped him.

We got the privilege of replacing the water heater.
Luckily, it only flooded the front porch, through the overflow pipe.

I couldn't help myself, and after a few days of 70s and 80s,
my daughter and I went to some garden centers, and I planted.
Mostly some 'Color Guard' Yuccas and some rosemary.
But, also some geraniums.

Silly me!
I forgot to cover the geraniums, and they froze.
So, I can buy and plant them again.

Such pretty, warm days, make you feel like the cold is over for good.

The Red admirals were flitting around everywhere.

We had some dense fog, the first day of March.
It was warm and humid.

Then, ANOTHER cold front.
We went from 75F to 25F, in just a few hours.

Out on the porch,
we have a fountain, that the birds love to come to.

Standing there, looking out into the Grove,
this little Titmouse came for a drink...not two feet away.
He didn't notice when I moved to take his picture.
They're usually very timid.

We were lucky enough to miss the ice that they got to the east and north of us.
We did get some hail, and sleet, and enough rain to bring us to .75 inches, for the year.

All in all, except for this yo-yo weather, it's been a good year, so far.

I've been doing good, with my
Project 365....so far.
The photos here, are for that.  I've been posting them on my
Photo Blog, and Flickr feed.

That takes up a bit of time, editing, etc.

So, that's what's happening here.
Have you been getting ready for Spring?
It is coming.
I promise.

***********
'Til later...
Take care...
~~Linda~~

We like to feed the birds.

They're fun to watch....

flitting around, jockeying for a place on the feeder.

And, it makes a great place to get shots of them.

The photo above is from a few weeks ago.

This was yesterday.

This is today.

Another feeder bites the dust.

It was in many pieces.  Brittle plastic, made more brittle by 

freezing temps.

We have an on-going battle with squirrels and raccoons.

I gave up counting how many feeders they have ruined.

This one I found at a garage sale, for $5.00.

The last one they tore up, cost WAY more.

We've tried ones designed to keep those rascally critters out.

But, how to keep them from taking them off the hooks,

and throwing them to the ground?

I refuse to give up.

We like watching the birds.  

So, we'll get another feeder.

We just need to remember to bring them in at night.

***********

'Til later...

Take care...

~~Linda~~

Heather, over at
Xericstyle,
shows a Wide Shot of her
garden, every month.

It's a good idea.  Let's her document the progress...or not...of her garden.
Hers is doing great, by the way.

So, I'm going to play along.

3-365

When I go out for the paper, each morning, I go across the street and put our
neighbor's paper against his door.  He's had some health issues lately, and it's not
easy to get that paper, from his driveway.

So, this morning, I took my camera with me.
Above, is the view they have from their driveway.

Got most of the front in.


Just not the Drive Bed...
which looks ok, except for the Spanish Bayonet Yucca,
that the precious deer have ruined.


Closer, from the street, the
Island Bed
looks ok, for January.
A bit of color, from Yucca, Palm and Prickly Pear.
The Mexican Feathergrass will perk up in spring.


Another shot.
Looks cold, huh?  It was.


The New Front Bed is hanging in there.
After having to redo it, because of the flood, it's had a challenge.
Some plants washed away.  Others have been pulled up a few times....
precious deer, again.


And, speaking of precious critters....see what the Armadillos have done?
The least they could do, is dig up the rye grass that washed down from
the golf course.  They've turned the mulch, and underlying cardboard,
upside down.
Precious, indeed!


The New Side Area is doing ok.
We replaced the mulch here, too.  Still needs more...
and, the rye grass is really coming up well here, too.


This walkway needs some work.  We replaced most of the gravel mulch that
washed away.  But, it still needs a bit more.  It's covered with leaves right now.
Our son-in-law came down and swept off the roof, and cleaned the gutters.
My job is to do the rest.


After a cup of coffee, and warming up, I went out to the
Fenced Yard.
The sun was bright, and it had warmed up a bit.
Looks all green here.  There is some clean up of things that have frozen.
But, it's not too bad.

That's Trixie, one of our Grand-dogs.
She's Shih tzu and French Bulldog.
An interesting combination.


Did I mention it was cold this morning.
19F here at Patchwork Garden.  We live in a low spot.

But, cold is relative.  It's much colder in other places.

And, speaking of relatives...
our son took his family to New York City yesterday, for an after Christmas trip.
Good timing, huh?
But, they're enjoying it.  Central Texas folks don't see snow that often.

*****
Join us over at Heather's, to see more Wide Shots.

*****
'Til later...

Take care...
~~Linda~~

Yes...that is a Coral Snake.

'Red on yellow, kill a fellow'

Well...even a poisonous snake might have been OK, if he hadn't headed for the Fenced Yard.

Miss Maggie was watching every move, through the front gate.

I knew, if he made it to that yard, she'd...as my mother would've said...

'be on him, like a duck on a junebug'.

That would NOT be a good thing.

So, I hurried into the garage and grabbed the above mentioned mother's old hoe.

It's a great hoe, by the way.

And, I chopped him in two.

Then, I went inside and had Mr P come out and check it out.

The snake was still moving it's head....so, again with the hoe, he chopped the head off.

Then, the ants took over.  A few hours later, this is what was left.

Here's what I found from researching it.

These snakes' venom is neurotoxic.  That means it attacks the nervous system.

The good news is, their head and fangs are pretty small.  They have to 'chew' in order to inject the venom.  

Can't picture many people letting that happen.  

Most bites to gardeners are while weeding, etc.  

Wearing shoes and gloves is the best defense....also, being aware of what's around.

They eat lizards and other small snakes.  

So, places that attract those, are places theses Coral Snakes would hang out.

Although the bite may not be very painful, it is an emergency.  

Get medical help.

I don't know why he was in our driveway, or if he'd been there before.  

I'm just glad he didn't come in contact with Maggie.  

That could have been deadly.

So...

Happy Gardening...

Be Careful...

~~Linda~~

But, no!  Somebody got there first!!

I'm not sure who it was. 

 A raccoon would've taken the whole thing, and left no evidence.

A bird would've left a hole in it, where he pecked it.

I'm thinking it's probably a squirrel.  Took a big bite, and left the rest.

Could it be he meant to share?

Naw.....

I better keep an eye on the other ones.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Miss Maggie was pitching a fit outside this morning.  First I thought it was squirrels...they drive her crazy, actually sitting on the fence, teasing her.  Or, maybe the baby deer.  Since they're not much bigger than she is, we think she thinks they're dogs.

But, nope...it was this guy.

I don't know what he was after.  I put out the saucer of water after he showed up.  I thought maybe he was looking for water.  But, he didn't look all that interested.

He's quite handsome...don't you think?  I mean,,,for a turtle.

Last year this time we had another visit.  Is it the same guy?  Why does he come?  And, from where?
Another puzzle to contemplate, in the garden.

I went out a little while later, and he was gone.  Hope he found a good place to hang out.

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~

They hang out here a lot.  There is always seed on the ground under the feeders. 

This guy showed up on the front walk yesterday.

Not sure why he came to visit.  He didn't stay long.

This guy showed up in the evening, on the covered porch.  He's a Walking Stick.  According to my Texas Bug Book, he eats plants, but they don't do much damage...unless there are a lot of them.  We'll keep a look out.  For now, he can stay.

Our favorite visit, hands down, was our friend Jann, from Georgia.  She was in Austin, for her granddaughter's high school graduation, and stayed with us for a few days, afterward.

It's been a fun week.  Hope your week, was just as much fun.