Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Country Critters

Our beautiful country property is a haven for wildlife. We have owned the land for four years and have marvelled time and again at the lovely creatures who habituate on or in the vacinity of our acreage. Below are several photographs of beautiful animals seen in the country.


I was thrilled to observe this little spotted fawn leaping about gleefully on a grassy area of our property


With fifteen hummingbird feeders hung on our acreage, these diminutive, feisty birds are a common summer sight ~ Juvenile male Ruby-throated Hummingbird


Female Eastern Box Turtles are often seen in the spring in search of suitable sandy soil to lay their eggs


In a recent post, Goodbye to Spring, I featured photographs of this beautiful Sandhill Crane family ~ As you can see, the two trailing youngsters have grown up quite a bit from the gawky, spindly-legged fluff balls seen only a month ago


This is our spirited young hooved neighbor across the street ~ I love the faint russet color on his stunning coat ~ He certainly is a gorgeous boy!


A slithery Blue Racer peeks out from between some old logs ~ We have seen these snakes curled around the mid to lower limbs of pine trees


Little Chipmunks are a common sight ~ They camp out under the bird feeders and stuff their cheeks with sunflower seeds


I spotted this Wild Turkey in an area where I scatter sunflower seeds for the birds ~ Upon closer look, I noticed a mini version of the female enjoying the tasty treats as well ~ Then, ...


... I was taken by surprise and delighted when six of her offspring popped out from the forest ground cover ~ Since these images were taken, we have seen this busy mama turkey and her youngsters quite often ~ The little gobblers are growing rapidly!


A lovely doe wades in a green sea of corn


This Eastern Hognose Snake resided in our peach and apple orchard until torrential rains displaced it


This year our bluebird houses were quite busy ~ Lots of nests were built but most were abandoned. We were fortunate to have at least two Eastern Bluebird broods raised successfully


One of our two curious canine critters ~ This is Honey ~ She was fascinated by this Eastern Box Turtle, as this was her first meeting with a shelled reptile

45 comments:

de schoonheid van de natuur said...

wat een mooie gevarieerde foto serie
ik heb er van genoten.
groetjes Herman.

MoiCLouLou said...

Beautiful pictures Julie! I love the pictures of the wild turkey family! In fact, all your pictures are beautiful and I just love looking at them all!
Have a nice day,
Louise

PoetessWug said...

What beautiful photos!!! I only cringed at the snakes! ^_^ My hummingbirds have been giving me endless delight this summer too! This is the first year we hung a feeder...We battled the ants and won. But now wasps and hornets are scaring my hummingbirds off! I think it's the hosta flowers right near there. :-( Any suggestions to fix this would be appreciated.

NESASK said...

What a terrific variety of wildlife you have. The Box Turtle is fantastic. And it's great you are able to follow the Sandhill Cranes as they grow. The photo of the doe in the corn is a fantastic portrait. Love the closeup of the Eastern Hognose Snake too. Beautiful photos!!

Debbie said...

ooooohhhhh julie, these are just awesome. the deer are for sure my favorite's because i feel a deep connection with them, i am not sure why!!!

i am soooo glad to be following you, you inspire me to take better pictures!!

TexWisGirl said...

these are all so beautiful. loved every one of them. what a sweet pup you have!!!

Art said...

Beautiful photos loved every one of them.

John said...

Amazing and simply beautiful collection of photographs Julie. An inspiration.

cindyzlogic said...

What a grand~glorious place to live, Julie!! It's perfect for you!! Lovely,lovely shots of all your wildlife!!

Unknown said...

Wonderful photos; super variety. Delightful post as always Julie. :)

Unknown said...

Wonderful collection!!! Beautiful images all!

Dan Huber said...

what a lovely series. Your photos area such great captures. love them

dan

RVDaalen said...

What a beautiful quality pics you have added in your new blog.

Greetz,

Remco

Dawn Fine said...

Wonderful photos Julie! Nice to see all younguns growing up.

Jann said...

What a beautiful collection of photos! I'd sure love to see an Eastern bluebird some day (ok I can say that about 100 or so birds!) Another fab post Julie!

Anonymous said...

Julie,
Excellent capture of "The spot". Poor honey looks confounded by the turtle.

I ma glad to see your hummers are active. Our Hummingbirds are lively as ever & at war, dive bombing each other at the feeder.

Good work as always

Weekend Cowgirl said...

What great photos and such a lovely place to live...

Kerri Farley said...

Beautiful critters! I am always so happy to see a new post from you! Your images are Superb and your LOVE of Nature shines in every post :)

theconstantwalker said...

Beautiful images... you have a good eye.

Ben said...

Hello Julie,
Beautiful photos, love them all.

Greetz,
Ben

Bob Bushell said...

The best. I can't see one, they are beautiful.

Larry Ostby said...

I always wait for your posts. Again you show us your photographic skills. Your new property must be a gem of a location. Deer, wild turkey,snakes, chipmunks. How nice it must be. Beautiful photos, your little hummer is a fine specimen, my favorite.

Patricia/Trisketta said...

Absolutely breathtaking each and every one!!! I just LOVE the intent look on Honey's face and your little hooved neighbor and chipmunk stole my heart.

Linda said...

Hi Julie, I am so excited about your photos I don't know where to start! The wild turkey is incredible capture and reminds me of the ostrich...Blue Racer is excellent pose and composition...He is up to something with that pose..LOL What a beautiful dog/turtle pic..the curiosity in the dog...wonderful moment! Your deer shots are so beautiful in nature..perfect sharpness in your shots always...I enjoyed this immensely and look forward to your next set and congratulations on your wedding..May you always be happy! Cheers, Linda :-)

Manuel Luis said...

Surpreende-me com estas fotos extraordinárias!
Fotografar a natureza é preserva-la.
Parabéns pela bonita pagina e grato pelo seu precioso tempo e dedicação.
Abraço

R.Theys-Troland54 said...

A very very good photo!

Dan said...

Wonderful assortment of critters and birds on your country abode!

Congratulations on the news of the impending construction.

forgetmenot said...

Julie, Another series of amazing photos. You ARE surrounded by nature--the wild kind!!! Fabbulous shots of the turtle, snake and, of course, the beautiful deer. Always a joy to come here!!! Have a lovely week. Mickie :)

forgetmenot said...

That would be "fabulous" not "fabbulous", but maybe it should be 'FABULOUS'!!! Mickie

SLH said...

Sensational series! Love all the wildlife in your area - what a variety. Your dog Honey is so cute!!

Kathie Brown said...

Is this heaven?

Kathie Brown said...

Seriously, I am jealous of the sandhill cranes, the black racer, the horses, the box turtle, the fawn, the...

Anonymous said...

Great photos! What a wonderful habitat you've built.

Unknown said...

Great, just great Julie
Love'em all

Kalyan said...

Simply beautifully captured shots...lovely!

Manuel Luis said...

Como esta propriedade deve fazer feliz quem habita nela! Felizes os animais, afinal esta terra também lhes pertence.
Ja tivemos uma propriedade em Angola onde tínhamos muitos animais felizes.
Beijo

Unknown said...

Great wildlife photos! I liked the turtles, birds, and deer and more!

Jeanne said...

Hallo Julie

Wat een geweldige opnames de kolibri en de slang super mooi .
Grt Jeanne

Um brasileiro said...

Hello. Simply beautifully.

forgetmenot said...

Thanks for the nice comments, Julie. I enjoyed looking at these photos again just as much the second time. Have a lovely weekend. Mickie :)

Marco Luijken said...

Hello Julie,
Very nice shots of all these lovely animals. You've caught them in very special poses. Beautiful the little deer, birds and the chipmunk. The last one is very funny, how the dog was looking to the turtle. Well Done Julie!!

Greetings, Marco

Grandmabeckyl.blogspot said...

I love your photos! The dog meeting it's first turtle is adorable. I popped over from Steve Creek's blog. I am a photographer as well. Just finished a series I did of our trip to Bandon, in the spring, on my blog.

Vincent Mistretta said...

Great images, especially the birds!

Unknown said...

Beautiful really nice blog Julie

Pierre BOYER said...

Gorgeous pictures,
Gorgeous fantastic wildlife !
Regards grom France,

Pierre
http://pierre-boyer.blogspot.com