Friday, April 3, 2009

My Town Shoot Out - Wild Animals

So this week B&B challenged us to find wild animals in our home towns. This was not an easy one, as I live in suburbia and had to venture to unincorporated Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. None the less, I did find some wild animals. Please to enjoy.
This first one is from the archives. In my neighborhood, this person hangs a feeder in their front yard. Kind of cool, because I can see the birds when I walk by.
This next one was in my neighborhood as well. There are many squirrels, and some are more wild than others. One of my friends feeds her backyard squirrel and has named her ChiChi.There were quite a few wild turkeys out this week when I went looking for animals.The goslings are just starting to hatch at my work, and I bring my camera in just to catch the action.As you can see, this is a very busy street, and I was admonishing the mom goose for letting her goslings so close to the road. I think B&B had stated something about how wild animals survive in our towns, and with acts like this, these goslings may not live the week!I found a new neighborhood called The Preserve, which is ironic as it is built among the beautiful rolling hills. I shot the flock of turkeys there, as well as the next two. I was driving in front of some houses, and there on the opposite side of the road - a doe!When I got out of the car to shoot the turkeys, I spied this little blue belly lizard, missing a part of his tail. We used to catch these as kids, and you can put them to sleep by rubbing their bellies, which have blue on either side. And their tails grow back.

Happy Weekend all!

8 comments:

iasa said...

Those are great! I especially like the lizard. Here's hoping you have a good weekend with a bit of time to relax.

aurbie said...

Great photos, J9. Glad you joined us. I always enjoy seeing your work.

I miss all the wild turkeys we had in our back yard in Georgia. We had 6 acres and it was always full of critters. When we downsized and moved to Maryland, we decided we wanted a tiny yard because we did not want to waste our time working in the yard. We wanted to get out and do things, away from the yard.

I always wondered how those geese got around so fast. Now I know they hop those FedEx trucks.

Thanks for a nice walk/ride around your town.

Gordon said...

Hello J9, I really enjoyed the stroll with your wildlife. You have an eye for shooting. This was a welcome subject for me because I enjoy the outdoors so much. Thanks for contributing such great shots. Gordon (Friday Shoot-outs From Florida)

GingerV said...

I love the squirrel - I know they are of the rat family but HOW could they be - reminded me of the squirrels in Michigan - here (which I only saw one time) are little, nearly hairless things. I loved your photos.

HalfCrazy said...

Ooh, I love the way birds stand on that thing! So cute!

That is a cute squirrel, I feel like touching its tail LOL.

Bagman and Butler said...

Wild turkeys! Whoo hoo! And a deer. That is the one animal -- the deer -- that I can't yet shoot. They come to my yard at night and drive Sally crazy but disappear before I can ever get a good shot.

Loida of the 2L3B's said...

May I apologize J9 for late comments.. Can't comment to some bloggers sometimes. Technical problems. Anyway, your photo shootout is so good and the wilds I had never seen yet in my life are actually back there at your end.. The squirrel is so cute and the Turkeys too. Hope to see you again soon.. Have a nice weeks ahead.

J9 said...

Iasa - Thanks, and as you know, my weekends are anything but restful!

Patty - I would love to have a place with enough room for wild animals to raom (in my yard there are only the occassional bird, and squirrel).

Gordon - Thank you, and I love seeing your part of FLA with you!

GingerV - Hairless squirrels? I think I'd freak out if I ever saw one!

HalfCrazy - I thought it was a pretty cool way to feed the birds, it looks like a mesh sleeve tied at the end!

Mark - The key is to not have any barking dogs, or yelling kids. I told my two to be quiet, and surprisingly they were!

Loida - I hope you are able to come see the beauty here one day!