So much has happened I

First of all, I have managed to capture, on film, some quite rare creatures. Not rare in the sense that they are uncommon but rare in the sense that a) I have rarely seen them, if at all and b) I was able to get decent photos of most of them.
First up, the chipmunk. A shy and tiny creature, I had the opportunity to get quite a few snaps of a couple of different chipmunks recently. Maybe it is a seasonal thing but anyway, this one is the best. Taken on the mountain, the fellah had no problem with me or my annoyingly noisy camera; brilliant.















Next, the jaw-dropping sight of a cardinal in the garden had me running for the (annoyingly noisy) camera. Though cardinals are supposedly abundant all over the east coast, I had never seen one anywhere, until the morning this lad flew in to snack on some bird seed I'd put out. The name, I assume, comes from the plumage colour, acentuated by the little red crest on top. Very impressed at this event was I.














Below is a very large moth that I believe may be a Semioscopis merriccella, whatever that might be in english. As he flew past, his underwings had a distinct flash of orange but in repose, you can't see this. He stopped for a rest on the deck and didn't object to the camera or even the flash. Obviously well used to celebrity...













Finally, here's a picture of a raccoon's behind, up the tree in the back garden. The photo was taken around midnight. I tried and failed to get a better shot, so apologies for that. To see a raccoon is definitely an exciting event. They don't care a whit about how much noise they make or about anyone being there to witness their mischief. What's immediately worrying about seeing a raccoon in your backyard is the thought of why they might be there. As scavengers extraordinaire, they are decidely unwelcome, though most attractive in appearance. A bit like meeting a dark, handsome stranger- alarm bells should be ringing... I had to conclude that as I had lately been putting out an unprecedented amount of leftover edibles for the birds, he had become attracted to the largesse. This generosity has now stopped completely, needless to say. The birds don't really need it at this time of year, so into the bin it goes. There have been no reported sightings since then...











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