Observations by salsburyp

Skeleton of one of our local deer, in the woods maybe 100 or so yards from the house.

Since the skeleton was so intact when I took this photo, I suspect that it died of natural causes, rather than being torn apart by a predator. (Having checked it again in January, 2023, the bones are more scattered, and seem fewer. They are partially getting buried, but they have also been moved somewhat in the past couple of years.)

Startled this little one underneath a plastic jug when I was using it to water some plants on my back deck. Didn't actually see it until a few minutes later, after my foot started to hurt like I had been stung by something, and I went out to look again and see what it might've been.

I am not certain if I might have injured or crushed it, not knowing it was there, but when I picked it up and put it in a small container, it was not stiff, and seemed to react slightly. I eventually put it outside again, and hope that it is OK.

The sting did not hurt very much (much less than a bee sting), and no real swelling or adverse reaction. I kind of forgot about it after about half an hour.

Pictures two, three, and four are taken with UV light, to capture the fluorescent color.

This little bird slammed into a window a bit ago on my front deck, and was flopping around on the porch, so I picked it up and held it, and it hung out with me for about 10 minutes, resting and collecting its wits.

In the default photo (last of the time sequence), you can see it standing up on its own legs as it was regaining balance, and then I put the phone down and got up (because my cats were coming around. 😄). It hung out with me for about another five minutes or so, seeming to nap and normalize, and I was noticing more motions in the head as it was regaining its balance, and eyes became more focused. It then flew off into the yard. ❤️

Not certain of the species, but going with one of the top recommendations from iNaturalist. Also unsure if it's male or female. Would appreciate more knowledgeable input.

It's mating season, apparently, and this buck is chasing a doe all around the yard and surrounding woods. He is so focused on his task, that he has stopped to look at me several times, as though he doesn't appreciate the interruption. 😆

Normally, they are very skittish and keep their distance, but not today.

Was clearing away lots of bramble yesterday, and found this dusky footed wood rat lodge. It's about 4 feet tall, and I threw one of my work gloves on to it just to give a sense of scale, since it's so amorphous.

Tried not to disturb it too much, though I did clear away about 4 feet of protective bramble around the front. I heard noises from it late last night, so I think it is still inhabited.

Spotted this large beetle on my steps. I actually walked by it twice before spotting it, so I'm glad I did not step on it.

The third photo is taken in a different location, and it appears that the beetle may have moved to the back of the house when the yard lights turned off out front. It gave me a chance to photograph in better light. (Or it could just be that I have two very large beetles tonight. 🤔😄)

Not sure of the exact species, but the suggestion of family looks accurate, so I'm labeling it with that, for now.

Found these (and a video) in my camera roll from about four years ago. Really distinctive, and not something that I often see in my yard, but the butterfly bush had been blooming for about a week, and they seemed to be enjoying it.

I was out in the yard just now with a super bright UV LED flashlight, and discovered that the millipedes that I have around here (and there are a lot of them) are fluorescent!

I saw several dozen of them, at least, as well as some scattered bits and parts that look like they may have been left over from ones that were eaten, shed their shell, or died.

I also include one photo under standard light from my phone's flash. It's a bit tricky doing that in the dark, so the focus is not the best, but the Millipede is crossing the brown leaf in the top center of the photo.

The light is extremely bright, which makes it easy to spot them all over the yard, but trying to get up close enough to shoot video for any duration is difficult. They don't seem to like the bright light, and will duck and hide relatively quickly, within a few seconds.

There were three bucks chasing each other around the yard and sort of playing with each other. I also saw two of them headbutting and clattering their antlers a day or two before this, but I did not have my camera handy, and they had stopped by the time I fetched it.

This one was how did the front yard, and had the most impressive rack of antlers of the three. I Have other pictures of them running around, and one of them lying down in the backyard, but iNaturalist seems to only want me to attach a max of four photos at a time.

Heard some rustling outside my bedroom window this afternoon and saw this buck hanging around. They've been active around here, lately.

This was taken through the screen of the window, so you can see a bit of that pattern if you zoom in.