I apologize in advance: #46: A Veritable Zoo

These past couple of weeks have been odd in terms of visitors. And I don't mean the people kind; I'm talking about animals--close encounters of the critter kind.

I was sweeping the patio and happened to look down and see a small toad peeping out from a hole in the bricks. He eyeballed me the entire time I was there, and even after I sat down with a glass of tea and a book. I talked to him for a while. I guess he didn't like the look of my feet. Or wanted to play peek a boo (or maybe hide and seek?)

I am used to seeing little toads and lizards out there, but I have to admit this was a first for me.

And then there is THIS absolute unit of a rabbit. My neighbors raise rabbits, I assume for food. This one escaped and occasionally shows up at the back steps. I managed to coax him into munching some carrot, and Dent got a small bag of rabbit food. But I don't expect him to survive very long, he's a bit slower than the wild ones that roam the front yard. Still, if he hangs with them he may have a bit more of a chance. Which is why I haven't really tried to pick him up or pet him. I put out a bowl of water on hot days, and change the water every so often, but mostly leave him alone.

Was trying to think of an appropriate name for him (Woundwort? Bigwig?) but I'm not even sure he really IS a he.

This is the one that puzzles me. We have plastic buckets at the corners of the house, to catch the rain coming off the roof (we have minimal gutters, and no downspouts). I found this poor thing floating in one of them the other day. I don't know if he bounced off the house and fell in, or was perching on the edge trying to drink and fell in, or just died and fell in, or what. Normally all I find in the buckets are floating bugs, particularly wasps and ants. Once I found a big praying mantis. But never have I found a bird. I felt pretty bad about this one, but there was nothing to do for it but lay it out in the woods.

........And of course, it being summer, there are snakes. Our neighbor killed a copperhead last week. We seem to have inherited our own slithery friend. He went slithering across the patio and under the car port. This fellow was as long as I am tall (5'). I nicknamed him "grandaddy snake", he's been feeding pretty good on lizards and mice. I am hoping the toad and rabbit avoid him, though.

Less than a month to go here in badhairland. I am excited, apprehensive, nervous, and all that goes along with a long distance move. I have thinned out things further; all I need to do is get the stuff I am storing to the appropriate place.