Our semi-rural community is home to many forms of wildlife. Here are a few pictures of visitors to the farm:
We’ve seen black bears on the property a few times. Neighbors less conscientious about their trash seem them more often. This one came through about two years after the Black Forest Fire. It’s likely to be adjusting to habitat changes.
Turkeys are as common as black bears. They prefer areas with less human activity.
Frequent visitors to the farm include birds of many kinds, mule deer, squirrels, pocket gophers, weasels, foxes, coyotes, and other high-plains critters. We don’t often have a camera when we meet them.
The neighbor chickens used to find snacks in the mulch, until I fenced them out.
The peanut gallery enjoy watching the harvest…
Large populations of ladybugs hatch at the base of younger pine trees. They climb up the trunk and branches to the ends and fly off. At 20′ distance it appears the tree has turned red and is emitting a plume of red smoke from the top.
Slime molds often appear on the mulch in wetter years…not often these days. They help turn mulch into food for the crop.