Things I've seen lately

Wee baby salamanders at the CNC's Frog Pond:

Thanks to Nina and her Caudata-philia, I pay attention to little squirmy things in ponds, instead of just writing them off as tadpoles.

Also at the CNC, a newly-minted butterfly:

I thought this was a silver-spotted skipper, but looking at photos of them, I see that the white should be on the hindwing, not the forewing. Anyone want to chime in? It was super-tiny.

I got my very own picture of the Lake Isabella GHOW chick:

Late afternoon light sure does help when taking photos.


The mourning dove that got away:

The other day, I saw what I assumed was a Cooper kill on the roof of the house. Throughout the day, dove feathers would drift down onto the front porch. Then later, I saw this picked-apart dove, very much alive and rummaging under the feeders. One tail feather left, and a rump that had been ripped nearly clean.
Speaking of Coops...I was alarmed tonight to see a chickadee sitting completely vertical on the edge of a feeder. He didn't look at me as I moved from window to window to check him out. He was staring across the yard, and I followed his line-of-sight...to a small male Cooper's hawk in a tree. I tried to slip out to the car to get my camera, but spooked the Coop away. Damn. But the chickadee lived to "chickadee-dee-dee" another day.

My surprisingly robust orchid:

After spending the winter as a nondescript stub, this crazy plant has exploded.
I took this photo a few days ago, when there were 12 blossoms. There are 15 today. With more buds ready to open.
I had to stake the darn thing to keep it from falling over!
Thank you Julie, for turning me on to orchids!