Alligator Turtle and Tree Frog, Baby Geese

My yard has been a sea of adventure in wildlife!  A few nights ago, I went out after dark to bring my porch chair cushions in for the night and there was this huge tree frog sitting on the back.  I had never seen one this large before!

Notice the suction cup toes.  I probably caused temporary blindness when my flash went off!  But he hopped away happily after posing for my photo shoot-ha!

I was fascinated with his approximate size of 3" as I had never seen a Tree Frog this large before.

Talk about a gaggle of geese!  About 4 Canadian geese families came with their babies to bask in the sun in the back yard before returning to the lake



The "teen" goslings are becoming beautiful, losing their soft down baby feathers.  They will be flying soon when their wings grow longer and then the flying lessons begin, fun to watch!! 

Returning to the water. 

Escaping through the neighbor's yard above and one cooperative pose from one of the babes. 

Resting and preening.

Last but not least, yesterday I encountered this Alligator Turtle that definitely looks like a prehistoric critter!  My neighbor helped get him back to the lake after he crossed the road and was in my front yard.  He was huge, approximately 24 " from head to tail and must have weighed 25lbs.  My neighbor picked him up on the end of a shovel (which the turtle bit) and flopped him into the lake.  He was bigger than my little Lilly Chihuahua!  I would hate to meet him in the dark!!

My neighbor deciding how to move him towards the lake.

He has lake weed caught on his shell which was really clean and shiny.  His tail had bumps going down it just like an Alligator!  Very scary!  But he finally was plopped back into the lake behind my house and I hope I do not see him again.  

A gift left behind from the adult Canadian Goose~ a Quill feather that I will make into a pen :)

My wild heart to yours....

TURTLES TODAY LAYING EGGS

I was walking the dog in the back yard this afternoon and came upon a very large turtle digging a nest and laying eggs.  I took Lily back into the house and grabbed my camera and got a video of her covering the nest and then fleeing back to the lake.  I could hardly keep up with her!!  Who says turtles are slow??!!  click on the arrow to view each video. :)

She watched me the whole time but kept on with her work.  Her back legs were big around as a broomstick and so powerful burying and then covering the spot with grass and dirt.  Totally fascinating.  So blessed to see these things of nature right in my own backyard! Hope you enjoyed seeing her, too.

My wild heart to yours...

Spring Babies in SC

My Cup runneth over with the spring babies coming to my back yard!

These are the Canadian Goose Goslings.

Here is the Mama Mallard with her 12 ducklings close behind.

This was the first I had seen her new hatchlings.  She had brought them to eat the fallen seed from the feeder outside my window.  So precious!

Making their exit and on to the neighbors...

And then the graceful Mute Swan family, Mama leading, three signets following proudly and Papa guarding the rear.

Beautiful scene from my den window this morning, I am so blessed...

Thank you for coming and please leave a comment, it is easy to do and I love reading them.

My wild heart to yours...

BEAUTIFUL REFLECTIONS, MALLARDS AND JASMINE

Now you know how much I love my mallard ducks and this is the male hanging around.  The female does not come every time with him now so she must be setting on her nest when he comes alone.  He calls to me when he sees me because he knows I will feed him a few pieces of broken bread.  

I tried to catch him with his wings aflutter but all I got is the above picture as he was so quick-ha! 

 He is so beautiful, notice the curl of feathers at the end of his tail.

The yellow floating on top of the water is the pine pollen.  It is always very heavy here and is playing havoc with my allergies this spring.

Beautiful reflections from the budding Maple Tree across the pond. 

Enter the water, Mr. Mallard.  Perfect!

A beautiful wild Confederate Jasmine blossom and bud growing on the bank of the lake.  This grows prolifically in the wild here in the South, but is also sold at Lowe's and Home Depot in pots.  It is a climbing a vine and will quickly cover latticework or arbors.  I once trained some around my front light post, it was beautiful.

I hope you have enjoyed a visit to my corner of the world today and come again soon.  And leave a comment, I love them!

My wild heart to yours...

UNTAMED CAT AND MALLARD COUPLE

There are always wild cats in our neighborhood and I love watching their antics at the lake.  Today one came and was down at the bank of the little lake drinking just a foot or two away from the Mallard Couple.

 Lovely reflections....

 Mr and Mrs. Mallard, my resident couple :)

I think this is a female cat, she is so pretty.  The male cat that I have posted pictures of previously is black and white.
Always something new in my backyard wildlife studies.  The squirrel was here at the same time.  Love all the critters!

And the squirrel watched from the Bradford Pear Tree all the time I was taking the photos.

Thank you for visiting.  I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with great food, friends and family.

My wild heart to yours...