and
There's also jaguars, ocelots and margays here, as well, but I've only seen them at the zoo. Lots of beautiful butterflies, numerous birds, frogs, small deer, monkeys and even manatees! I'm hoping to see as many different fowls, animals and reptiles as I can while I'm here, so I'm documenting them here.
Driving home from church a few weeks ago we saw this guy and stopped to take pictures. He didn't turn his head or even move faster when I got down to take pictures. It was as if he had his slow pace of moving where he wanted to go across the road - so we were no distraction at all.
We're calling him a "Neotropical Rattlesnake," according to my field guide. He (OK maybe she's a she) was about 3 feet long and had 8 rattles.
I've actually been fascinated with rattlers since I was little. In high school, a friend & I would ride her dad's horses out into the sage brush "looking for them!" My mother would always shake her finger at me, shake her head and "tsk, tsk, tsk" at me when I'd get home and tell her what we did. Can't say I'm excited to "find" any of the venomous snakes here but they are certainly interesting to see and watch.
On to a safer animal: the Coatimundi
Meet Mona! She lives on Alan & Dolly Graham's property being rehabilitated back into the wild. She has THE life. Gone all day but comes home for a dinner of dog food and freshly cut papaya and bananas. If guests are over you may also get a "sip" of whatever they are drinking. Beats digging for grubs and eating whatever insects are around!
And she loves to climb up to snuggle around your neck but she's not picky who she's with.
Oh yes! Anything is fair game to check out - ears, nose, mouth, eyes.
Ahhhhhhhh!
Looking for something to drink - keep your eyes on them. They are quick!
This patio is the feeding area. They come running from across the property about the same time every evening. Up the stairs or climb the tree to enter through a window onto the porch.
I would definitely eat papaya and bananas every night. Not so much for the dog food.
Switching from Dolly's shoulders (on the right) to Stacy Holbert. Why? Because Stacy has a camera which definitely needed to be checked out. Curious - they'll check it out.
My turn!
My kids might quote Aladdin here:
"Come closer..... closer..... closer... A LITTLE TOO CLOSE!"
She's really very sweet
Another "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, please!"
Totally comfortable in Alan's arms - just napping a bit.
Who would like to live here? This the view from their patio.
Quite a place to roam all day, huh?
Watching the rain as it approaches across the property.
So now that you're all relaxed - here's the final show!
A crocodile in our lagoon. =)
if you want to see the live action!
We were told when we purchased the property that crocodiles lived in the mangroves around the lagoon, and we do have a nice creek near our dock this guy hangs out in. This was the first sighting this year. Typically, he comes out around dusk - we'll see if he goes back to "typical" because this pictures was taken by Stacy mid-afternoon!
Needless to say, I haven't been swimming the past few days but I have gone rowing each day and haven't seen him since the pictures were taken. I'm hoping we can come to an "agreement." He can have free run ALL NIGHT LONG, and I'll just take a little portion of the day. Sounds fair enough to me!
So jealous!
ReplyDeleteHey Kyle - open invitation for you here but can't guarantee you'll see the snakes or the croc. Weren't there crocodiles in our lake while you were growing up? =)
DeleteOh Wow! Such interesting "neighbors" - of the furry & scaly kind!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the "exotic" life with us. It is snowing and snowing and snowing this morning - so a little green and warm sun looks mighty good. Hope you are happy, healthy and having a great adventure.
ReplyDelete