August 09th, 2019

Was it a week ago that I posted about the bobcat we have seen in our backyard?  I know it was recently.  It made me think about all of the wildlife around us here.

We have had bobkitty sightings a few more times since then.  We are now aware of the time of day he (or she) is most likely to be seen and so we open the blinds on the back of the house around then.  Sometimes we get a quick peekie, sometimes we don't.  We keep trying to get a good photo but this is one sneaky cat!  Here's one attempt.  Hint:  Look for the glowing eyes in the picture:

 That's as good as we've managed to get so far and Tim got that shot (thank goodness)

But it has been an eye opener for us.  It's amazing the things we do not see that are all around us!  I mean we have lived here for more than three years now and we have only just now learned about the bobcat!  What else didn't we know?  What other animals are out  here?

We knew about the lizards of course.  Those guys are everywhere!  They come in all sorts of earthy colours, browns and greys and greens and they aren't a problem at all.  They seem to be terrified of us and as soon as we step into a lizard heavy area, they scatter in all directions.

The bunnies are slowly becoming more accustomed to sharing space with us.  They eye me carefully when we occupy the same general area, but no longer race away at top speed at the first glimpse of me.  Which pleases me to no end.  I keep trying to explain that I am not going to hurt them but, I suppose, words are cheap.  I need to continue to show them through my actions that I am no threat.

The birds are everywhere!  The pelican convention in the photo above was at the jetty which is one of our favourite places.  We love watching them.  They are so graceful when they fly but whenever they hit the water it's more like a bellyflop.  Makes me grin each time.  There are so many different kinds of birds that I wouldn't even know where to begin making a list.  I will just say.....We have a lot of birds of all sorts, a lotta lot.  And since they aren't pet birds, they count as wildlife.

Ok the funniest photo  might be the one of the  manatee.   We saw it in the channel down by the jetty just last weekend.  In the photo it just looks like something dark grey sticking up out of the water.  They are massively huge but the only part that is usually seen is their little snout poking up which is exactly what that photo is.  We actually could see the shadow of it's huge body in the water, it just didn't come through in the picture.  We have, of course, seen them at area aquariums too but it's so much more exciting to find one in the wild.  They are kind of adorable for a creature so enormous.  I'm told they are very gentle and adore romaine lettuce.  How could we not love an animal like that?

And then there is the tortoise.  I'm not sure why it's called so, but this is a Gopher Tortoise and they are a protected animal.  Tim and I were at the beach at the town just north of us so I could take photos and as we were walking around, I spied this guy out of the corner of my eye deep in the bushes.  I got closer, not to disturb or bother him in any way, just to get a decent picture.  I was very quiet and moved slowly, grabbed a couple of quick shots and crept just as silently away.  I don't think he ever knew I was there because he did not stop eating.  Sort of like me when I'm eating pizza.  Or cookies.  Or M&M's. Or Ice Cream.  :)

Squirrels, well technically they are wildlife, but probably the most tame of all of them.  And, like the lizards and the bunnies, they are everywhere.  They are goofy and silly and funny and I really enjoy watching them, but since they are wildlife, I have never attempted to get close to one.  They have, however, gotten uncomfortably close to me, but that's a different story entirely.

The deer?  Well I adore the deer.  They are hard to find because they really do not want to be found.  But every once in awhile, when we are out hiking around the trails, we are quiet enough that they do not know we are there, and one of them will unwittingly step into our view.  We always stop immediately so that they no we are no danger to them and wait for them to keep walking back into the cover of trees where they feel more protected. (after I've snuck of picture or two naturally)

And then of course there is this guy:

I am wary of this fellow.  I assume that any body of water (that is not the ocean) holds the possibility of one of these guys being around.  I am both fascinated and frightened by them. But I also think that is darned smart of me.  All of the rest of the creatures I've listed here, really hold no danger to people. Even the bobcat is unlikely to hurt me.  But the alligator?  I have no trust in any promise an alligator makes.  Still I respect his existence in my world and we share an uneasy truce.

Of course there are also the dolphins that I love and STILL have not managed to get a decent photograph of, dang it!  I will keep trying.

I know there are other creatures here too. Probably a lot of them.  I look forward to finding and photographing them some day too.

It's good to have a goal.