Wildlife Wednesday January 2016: The Prequel

To kick off a new year of Wildlife Wednesday posts I'm heading to the archives for interesting wildlife photos from back before I began linking with My Gardener Says to make Wildlife Wednesday a regular feature on my blog.

First, a look at a wildlife photo from my garden last month.  Bees on the Rosemary Gorizia flowers.  Or is that all there is to see in the photo?  A closer looks shows what appears to be a bright green ladybug on the stem behind the bees, but is most likely a Cucumber Beetle.  I didn't even see it there until I looked at the photo.  We don't grow cucumbers or squash, just a few herbs.

Let's move on to the archives for a look previous wildlife visitors.  A juvenile Katydid on a canna leaf.  The undeveloped wings were a puzzle that took a while to figure out.  When I discovered it was a Katydid I was concerned we might have an infestation which can cause major plant damage.  It turns out that only a few ever show up at a time so I don't bother them.

A leaf-footed bug on the (old) fence headed for a gap in the boards.

Wait for it....

Interesting acrobatics, the bug made it across the gap and we've replaced that fence.

Birds have always been big players in my wooded garden and I've amassed quite a collection of their antics.  This one I call "The Standoff".   A couple of House Finches enjoying a bath are joined by a new arrival who seems content at first to wait his turn.

Or not.  "Okay, I'm tired of this....."

"Hey!  We were here first!"

"Who you lookin' at?"

This last bird photo was too cute to pass up, it's a nest of Barn Swallows from the golf clubhouse where Neal plays.  They look like cartoon drawings and exactly like many of the images I found in a search.

"Hi there!"

It's my tradition to end Wildlife Wednesday posts with a deer photo.  These photos are from December, Deer on the outside looking in is exactly where I prefer to see them.  We've had one or two find their way inside the fence but it's so much better now and I've had some plants bloom for the first time ever.

Not sure what the fascination is with the post.  It's been raining which means there's plenty of water and food out there so we're all getting along just fine.

Uh-oh!  Not quite enough camouflage.

I found so many fun wildlife photos while combing the archives so I'll continue to share a few on Wildlife Wednesday posts throughout the year.  You can find a lot more wildlife in the garden over at "My Gardener Says..."