Wild Albino Rabbit

This fellow appeared in our yard 2 or 3 weeks ago.  

The first time I saw him (or her), I tried to get a photo.  He disappeared before I could get my camera.  Although I kept watch, I didn't see him again for over a week.  I was beginning to think I had imagined him, until my neighbor mentioned that he had seen him, too.  I see him almost every day now.

It is difficult to see from the photo, but he has pink eyes and pink ears, much like a domestic rabbit.  The difference is in the shape of his head - and his wiliness.  By all accounts, he should not have lived this long.  Maybe the neighborhood predators are stuffed with the surplus crop of chipmunks this year.

Cool Mornings

Friday June 7 we monitored at another corridor site off Weckerly Road.  

The area includes woods and wetlands.  It's difficult to believe it used to be a farm.

The temperatures were in the low 60's, cool enough to keep these fellows steady for my "plant" camera:

Peck's Skipper

Pearl Crescent

I love how their antennae are striped.

Last Friday was another beautiful, cool morning and we were back at Oak Openings, monitoring two of my favorite grasses.

June Grass

Porcupine Grass

(Click on the photo to see how apt the name is)

@#$%& Sparrows!

     In general, my philosophy is live and let live, but it is hard to stick to it when it comes to House Sparrows (Passer domesticus).  

     This is our front door.  Look closely and you will see them eating (yes - eating) our house.  
I assume they need the sandstone for their crop.

     Our tile roof is a veritable Sparrow condominium.  Sparrows pry their way under our ridge cap to make a nest.  Each successive year, nesting material is pushed down each row of tiles, gradually dislodging them.  Boards rot, water leaks, cash flows.

     Previous so-called roof repair experts have clearly not understood the industriousness of their foe.  

Handyman doesn't quite capture the awesome ability of Tony, who is now on the job.  We've committed funds to go all out and Sparrow proof this roof for good - 

copper over any open boards, rubber roofing over the entire base, nail down every tile, mortar the ridge cap.

We've even placed foam in the gutters (another favorite nesting site).

Stay tuned.  I wouldn't put it past these bird brains to find another way to exploit our house.