Meet Duffer

We’ve been seeing this raccoon for quite awhile. He checks out the compost hole and does a good job of digging it up looking for the worms it draws.

I’ve been squeezing Tangelos and all the rinds go into the hole, along with the ashes from the wood stove.

He sure has some long whiskers.

We really don’t know if it is a male or female, but “Duffer” stuck because it has such a grey face.

Right now he’s checking out the table scraps I put in his bowl.

We look forward to seeing him. The cats accept him. He walked within 2 or 3 feet of them and they just laid there and looked at him.

Look what came to dinner…..Opossum

I was loading up the wood stove, when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. At first, I thought it was one of the cats coming up for their “breakfast milk”.

After finishing up the milk, it made sure the plate was licked clean.

It has been back several times….the cats just lay on the deck and watch it. A few weeks ago I saw one about half again as big, with very dark, almost black hair….but it hasn’t been back or near the deck.

You’d think the 3 cats would run off all the wildlife…but they don’t. The Opossum, the Raccoons and the Armadillos all share the yard with them.

But I don’t see any fruit rats anymore, and the tangelos are getting ripe.

A Butterfly Kind of Day.

I was surprised at how many butterflies showed up at the same time today.

We were working on the boat when a Tiger Swallowtail cruised by and I had to run and grab the camera. We’ve seen one most every day for the past few weeks. A wingspan of about 5” and they seem to glide everywhere.

A Gulf Fritillary ….on a very invasive plant.

A female Queen.  I’ve released several Queens the past week or two.

The Queen’s underside has lines. You don’t see them from the top.

A Palamedes Swallowtail …..a bit frayed around the edges.

A Peacock and a Queen on the tropical milkweed.

I chased several Yellow Sulphurs around but this was the best I could get.

I was surprised at how many colors the Peacock has. Very pale blues..I think there is also some iridescence to them that I couldn’t capture with the camera.

and how about this little Brazilian Skipper. I never paid much attention to them until I saw one in a photo. They have such big beautiful eyes. Canna Lilies are their host plant and I have several in the wetlands.

I’m not sure what this plant is…but it smells beautiful.

A male Queen….note the black spot on his hind wing.

On the underside of the hind wing it is the white dot circled with black.

The Zebra Longwings have been here all summer. There are usually 3 or 4 together.

I have about 25 Queen caterpillars in my Butterfly House. I haven’t seen many Monarchs lately. Maybe they have already migrated….or they’ve found other plants to lay their eggs on since there are Queens here and they compete for the same Milkweed plants.