Critters of the Yard

Dragonfly on tomato stake.  This was as close as he'd let me get, and even then I'm at full zoom (24x). And hand-held, of course, so not as sharp as I'd like.  It's really hard to hold it steady at that focal length.  But I keep trying.

I never tire of the endless array of nature that passes through my yard throughout any given day.  Birdsong is always in the air, from before the break of day until after sunset.  Mostly cheery, often punctuated by the low cooing dirge of the Mourning Dove.

Lately, and again this afternoon, I've been fascinated by the dragonflies that pass through, often resting atop one garden stake.  There were several, all different, here at one time today, although I couldn't capture one big one because he only flitted around, never stopped for a moment of rest.

Blue dragonfly on hose reel.

Ladybug in Cosmos.  I have a native population and they thrive in the Cosmos and also in the veggie bed.  I'm grateful that they find my yard to be a good home. The wind was blowing and the camera didn't do a good focus job on the subject, but that's OK.

Not exactly a critter, but a sight I really like -- an old shed in a neighbor's yard crowned by a huge mimosa tree.  Unfortunately, only a close-up works because the yard beyond this is overflowing with giant plastic kids toys that kind of ruin the effect.  I like this look.  I also love the moments when the breeze is just right to send the wonderful scent my way.

Out in the back 40, the groundhog critter was feasting on mulberries, although not within camera range.  He's not the only one who enjoys that tree and its fruit.  Any given evening if I walk back to the compost pile, a virtual plethora of birds flitter through the bush, chirping and causing lots of shaking of tree limbs.  They don't like this human intrusion into 'their' territory.

In the late evenings, when I sit and watch the day end and the fireflies come out,  birds are everywhere in the lawn and trees, flying everywhere, finding food in the grass, even occasionally hopping around in the veggie beds in search of a tasty bug.  Cardinals, mockingbirds, brown thrasher, robins, an occasional Carolina wren and some tiny sparrows make up the usual crowd, along with starlings or something similar.  I've seen plover out there recently, and a grey bird I think is a catbird.  And of course the swallows that grab dinner on the fly.

I don't know what's going on with me, but I've been napping almost every day I'm home in the afternoon.  No complaints -- I love it -- but I can't help but wonder why, after decades of being totally unable to nap.  I have to wonder if the supplements I've been taking for a few weeks are finally working.  Two of them, lecithin and phosphatidyl-choline, are stimulators or precursors to the neuro-transmitters that tell the brain to sleep.  The other is niacinamide, which also helps the process in some way. I take them at bedtime so I wouldn't expect them to still have a lingering effect the following afternoon, but who knows?  I do seem to be sleeping a bit better, most nights. Trouble with the nap is that I really don't want to get up.  I've been awake a little over an hour now, and I still want to hit the sofa for more.