About two weeks ago, we discovered that three baby foxes had been born and were living under our shed, and since then, we’ve spotted them at least once each day. (Don’t worry, they haven’t been abandoned—we see their Mom, too, from time to time.)

Yesterday, for example, we caught two of them napping, which is just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Why were they zonked out like that? What was it that had exhausted them so?

(more…)

Because Mother Nature thought this morning’s baby foxes …

… and this afternoon’s baby birds … (more…)

We recently spotted a groundhog living under our shed, and have been pondering how best to get rid of it. So this morning, when Irene saw tiny creatures frolicking at the base of the shed, she thought—we’re too late! The groundhog’s already given birth!

But when we looked more closely, we saw those weren’t tiny groundhogs gamboling … they were baby foxes!

Three of them, in fact! (more…)

I’ve lost count of how many daffodils Irene and I have planted since we moved to West Virginia in 2004. At one point, it was around 6,000, but I’m no longer sure. And each year, the first daffodil of Spring has predictably popped sometime between March 13 and March 17.

But not this year. After an amazingly mild Winter, the first daffodil (and the second, and the third, and several more) bloomed today, about 2-1/2 weeks earlier than ever before.

Behold!

It’s wonderful to see some yellow in March, but what this portends for our annual Thank God It’s Spring Daffodil party we hold each April remains to be seen.

I spotted these two Phasmatodea outside today, the first time I’ve ever seen more than a single such insect at once.

These bugs are known to be difficult to find in the wild, because they keep still when people are near, which allows them to remain hidden as they blend in with sticks, twigs, and so on.

In fact, I’ve never spotted one in the woods, only when they’ve happened to be against the plain background of our house.

I’m taking a guess that I came upon them mating.

Perhaps Paul Riddell or Elizabeth Moon, who also chronicle the outside world, could tell me whether that’s indeed what’s going on!