My Wildlife Arena

mmm ... maybe I'm not living in NY's Mid-Hudson Valley.  I could swear right about now that I really am residing in a Wild Kingdom somewhere.

'Cause the bears are back again tonight ... two weeks to the day ... knocking down the bird feeder, the heavy duty metal one.  Last time I spied them, those two hefty blackish brown visitors dined for maybe 15 minutes at 5 am in the morning.  In no hurry to take off, they just stared back at me as I was glued to the window, then went back to pawing great mounds of seed, much to their delight.

Today a friend and I watched a huge mama snapping turtle spend a few hours laying eggs in a large dirt mound.  After doing her thing, she toddled down a hill to a flowing stream and said 'adios' to her defenseless shelled young ones.

And how 'bout the two other turtles I spied cruising across busy roadways this afternoon.  The ones who lived to tell the tale, dodging speeding cars as they nonchalantly made their way to wetter climes.

And don't get me going about how many days it's like a grand aviary here, the chorale of birds bringing music to my ears as I while away some time on the back porch.  Or the story I heard yesterday about a bunch of baby possums being rescued from their dead mama's pouch by a woman who couldn't bear to see the descending vulture finish off the whole family.

Yep, that's the view 'round these parts as May wends its way to a close ...  

p.s. OOPS!  I forgot about the two grazing deer, dining early this evening in the wet green grass ... right near that mound of buried eggs.

... and at Gail's too!