Backyard habitat

That's how I think of my backyard: as a habitat for wildlife. I'm sure the wildlife find it wanting at times, especially when the dogs are keeping an eye on things, but without the dogs, it might be overrun by rabbits, squirrels, and opossums.

This joey popped up in the yard the other night; I was able to get a pic between its bouts of playing dead. Only later did I notice that the creature's back leg looks injured. I hope my dogs did not inflict the injury. The guy crawled into the drain pipe from the downspout for temporary protection; I assume it left during the night.

For some reason, I get a kick out of this series of photos:

I thought the male wren at the house in the backyard had not found a mate because all he seemed to do was sing. Well, I was wrong, as there are screaming babies in the nest now. Such little birds, such big voices! And a couple seems to be moving into the wren house in the front yard.

This is the time of the year when not much is blooming other than one viburnum. Even the few annuals I planted are not very enthusiastic. We did get an inch of rain last Tuesday, which was very welcome, but now we are in another dry stretch. At least I don't have to mow much, which leaves more time for hand-weeding and spraying.