12 July, 2015                     This may not be the blog for you…

…if you don’t like pictures of hawks. Or – more likely – if you don’t like pictures of snakes. I don’t know how long these Red-tails will be hanging around my neighborhood, but as long as they do, I’m going to post a picture a week. I am, as you have perhaps noticed, fascinated. This is a pose I don’t often see. A mockingbird and a hawk both on the powerline tower, just standing there:

Truce

When I see mockingbirds near hawks, it normally looks more like this – note the mockingbird flailing at the hawk’s head: 

Mockingbird harassing hawk

I’ll put a snake picture (more than one) farther down the page. So that snake-o-phobes can sign off before they get to it; consider yourself warned. There are a lot of snakes around recently. If you don’t recall (even if you do) the word for fear of snakes is “ophidiophobia.” It’s crazy (I don’t mean that literally) how many phobia related web sites are around. One called anxietycoach dot com, not even kidding. Another called fearof dot net. I’m afraid I never realized that before. 

I know this reassurance will be slight if it’s reassurance at all, but when snakes come out, flowers do too. My favorite flower is honeysuckle and I’m always certain it’s gone by mid-June at the latest. But it keeps popping out. This one is not show-quality but I always smile when I see honeysuckle. From Bryan Park:

Late season honeysuckle

I’m sure I could go on one of those crazy anxiety sites and find the word for fear of bees but the whole idea just drives me right out of my mind. Also, unlike with snake pictures, no one who follows my blog has expressed any anxiety about bees. So here’s a bee on a flower, also from Bryan Park this week: 

Bee on a Bryan Park flower

It’s possible there’s a moth phobia – it may even be probable – but seriously, why would there be? They’re just moths. This one was at Pony Pasture this week. It was a little bit phobic about having its picture taken. So this isn’t an elite quality photograph, but oops, if I get a better one, I’ll post it. Speaking of elite, would any of you elite fauna identifiers care to identify this attractive and as yet unidentified insect?: 

The first moth I photographed this week – ID anyone?

Snakes and flowers and moths must all come out at the same time. I photographed the moth above at 2:10 at Pony Pasture. Mackey and Turner and I walked for thirty-two more minutes and I photographed this beauty – also in need if identification:

Also unidentified, but isn’t that spectacular? Identification welcome and encouraged. Thank you in advance.  

I guess all this stuff comes out at the same time of year. Because, this week, there were toads like crazy at Pony Pasture. These two are similar but not the same toad. I took these pictures about ten minutes apart:

This post is infested with unidentified creatures. Including this toad, although that’s just slackness on my part. 

Unidentified toad number two: 

Toads everywhere! At Pony Pasture anyway.

OK – snake pictures coming up. Time to bail if you’re an ophidiophobe. Or go to anxiety coach dot com and put your ophidiophobia behind you for good and all and come back. This snake visited my brother’s house in Hanover. It’s an Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis). He moved it to a more upscale neighborhood:  

My brother holding an Eastern Ratsnake. Notice its tail coming around his waist.

This Black racer (Coluber constrictor priapus) was at Bryan Park. I call this my Garden of Eden shot:

Black racer at Bryan Park

I took this picture at Bryan Park the same day. My sharp-eyed friend Ethan noticed it first. This is a Northern water snake:

Northern water snake at Bryan Park. Good eye Ethan!

I haven’t posted dog pictures lately, mainly because I haven’t taken any good ones. I’ve been hiking with the dogs a lot – but the light’s been weak since the leaves are so dense. This is Yuki and Turner and Mackey around mid-hike this morning. It’s not a brilliant picture but they are three superb animals:

Those are three handsome and outstanding boys. You have never hiked with three better dogs – they are 100% of a treat 100% of the time.

All done! For the time being! I even have some decent dragonfly pictures but I’m up too late. Maybe next week. Hopefully you’ll come back to look!

Have a great week,

Jay