Episode 2 of This Week in Critters

OK, now I'm going to clear away that hairy-legged vision from the last post with -- TA-DA!!! -- another bug! This is a Leopard Moth and it's the first one I remember seeing, although I've seen the wooly caterpillers that turn into them. Isn't she gorgeous? [Steve Irwin voice] What a beauty!

Below is a young snake, maybe even just a hatchling (and now I'm freaking out the snakephobes -- oh gee, now I've got to look up that phobia) (hsssssss-teria? just kidding*), it's only about a foot or so long and was inside the screened porch. It's a non-venomous rat snake, but still a concern since snakes and cats don't mix well, and we really don't want to know who would be injured worse. This little guy crawled into a crack that looked like it went inside the walls of the house, so I'm still wondering where, or IF he came out again.

And finally, below is the only thing that you really don't want to mess with whether you are human or feline: a prickly pear cactus, which are all getting beautiful blooms right now. I don't know if the flowers smell pretty. I won't stick my nose in the blossoms, because I can see what's inside them: bugs. Beetles aren't that scary but bees are not something I want to inhale. Besides, the star jasmine covering the back fence is fragrant enough to fill the whole yard right now. This is part of a monstrously big cactus that grew from an ear that had laying by the curb in a median. It's a lot happier these days.


*actually "snakephobia" is correct.