June 16, 2013

Success!  This week I was able to catch the fawn that Linda saw last week (at least we assume it's the same one) and its mother.  They came by in mid-morning, and the fawn has grown dramatically in just one week.

White Tail Fawn

White Tail Deer - Doe

We also had several more visits by the gray and red fox, though all these visits were in the night.  I got one picture of the red fox that shows that its winter coat is just about gone, exposing its black feet.

Red Fox in Summer Clothing

At the other end of the animal spectrum are the dragon flies which hatched out a few weeks ago and are highly abundant at this point.  Coming across a sunny spot there will be dozens of them that alight and buzz around you as you pass by.  One of the more prevalent species is this model with white on the center of its abdomen and clear wings.

Unidentified Dragon Fly

The best I can determine is that it looks like a Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva).  But I can only find evidence of this dragon fly living in Europe, so I doubt that's correct - I'll have to keep searching.

An interesting bug I did identify is one of those animals that has a very descriptive name:  It's a Six Spotted Green Tiger Beetle:

Six Spotted Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sexguttata)

These are beautiful metallic green and really sparkle in the sun.  They like sunny locations and consume various insects including caterpillars.  I hope they like Gypsy Moth caterpillars, as there are quite a few of them around this year.  Perhaps you've seen them:

Gypsy Moth Caterpillar

They are quite pretty even if they are destructive.

We took my father (and mother!) up to Sugar Hill today to see the mountains and the Lupine - it was a pretty day, and we made it back to Lake Wicwas for a BBQ well before the rain started.

Looking Northeast from the Inspiration Walk at Sugar Hill

Lupine at Sugar Hill

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!