Natural Wonder Art - Backyard Photos

My yard

As I describe in 'About Me', we're fortunate enough to get periodic visitors. As of Summer, 2005 this property became a National Wildlife Federation "Certified Wildlife Habitat". Some photos are provided here. I've tried to keep them relatively small. In most cases, you can click on the thumbnail for a larger image in a separate browser window (or tab). Enjoy!

Night-time Visitors (updated 10/2007)

I TNR feral cats. The main colony is several blocks further up my street, but some cats have taken to "hanging out" on my property. I've rescued several sets of kittens (at 2-3 weeks), hand-raised, and found homes for [most of] them. I've even finally managed to TNR the mother (she's VERY wild and wiley -- I watched her step over the trap trip plate several times before successfuly trapping her -- the poor thing, she was terrified, but it was necessary -- she's one of the ones who has since taken a liking to my yard). I feed these cats in the pond/garden and in a storage area under the outdoor stairs on the other side of the house. The back yard is for feeding birds, fun human activities (playing with my mini-mutt, cookouts, relaxing by the firepit), and for my indoor cats' outdoor cattery. The front yard is for more plantings, rabbits, bats, butterflies, and bees. The rabbits also frequent the garden.

Recently (Oct 2007), the cat food has been disappearing much quicker than usual, the bowl overturned (but no food laying around), empty every night even if not overtured -- what's happening ?-- what's suddenly developed a taste for Friskies kibble? -- the main colony couldn't have moved, I'd see more of them here and bowl would empty during the day... Oh, jeez, we're in the City, what if we've attracted rats!! (wait a minute, calm down -- feral cats probably means no rat problem) So what's going on here!!??

We bought a night vision camera and are currently evaluating motion activated camera and video streaming software. However, the first 2 nights the camera was active in the under-stair storage area, we got a good part of the answer.

Intended To Feed Ferals (Mama and Tux)

Surprise

Surprise x3

I don't consider these surprise visitors pests (if they were in the house, that would be different story). And hey, as long as they're here, there will be no rats here, and far fewer slugs and bugs (big YAY to that)!!!

The Falcon

S/he came early this year (2004). S/he doesn't usually arrive until November or so. And she brought a friend. Actually, I think it was a youngling (this year brood) that she was training. And, yes, that's a pigeon she's standing on. Pigeon feathers are scattered about. She plucks it first, then rips the flesh and feeds. The pigeon isn't always dead by the time s/he starts eating. Nature can seem cruel.

Falcon Shot #1	Falcon Shot #2
Falcon Shot #3	Falcon Shot #4
Falcon Shot #5	Falcon Shot #6
Falcon Shot #7

The Rabbits
These were taken from inside the house. Not that great pics, but I think it's great that I can have this kind of wildlife in the City.

Small Pond, Fish, and Patio

Update Fall 2005 This pond was closed, filled, covered in many, many bags of pine mulch and became an outdoor haven for our indoor cats. The fish were moved to the big pond in the garden.

This is our first pond. It's just outside the living room windows, very near the house. We enlarged it and deepened it after the first winter. Now it's sort of a figure 8, 5 ft diameter, 10 ft long, ranging to about 2 1/2, maybe 3 feet deep. The koi were getting too big for this pond. This pond is now for smaller goldfish and baby koi. As the koi grow so fast, they'll probably be moved back to the big pond next summer. They're nearly as big as the 4 year old goldfish now.

Large Pond, Fish, Garden

Update August 27, 2009
I noticed that Pascal is chasing Lucy. Not sure how often or why. They or the fish uprooted one of the plants, so fronds and roots are floating on the surface. Pascal keeps trying to get on them to bask. Maybe they're "fighting" over center of the pond basking? I put a large and a small 1/4 inch piece of styrofoam in yesterday. We'll see if they want to use it and if they can use it. Hope it solves their boggle.

Update July 19, 2009
Lucy likes her Reptomin. She seems to be unsure what greens, squash, egg, or fish pellets are. She occasionally will grab a large piece of chicken and tear off a chunk and swim away. Of course, abandoning the remaining large chunk means it's not there when she comes back for it. Pascal will grab the whole large chunk, rip off a piece, and place her body over the remainder while she eats. She's learned not to abandon the main piece because the fish are omnivorous too. They're basking together, sometimes Lucy on top, sometimes Pascal on top, and sometimes just

side by side. Pascal hasn't gone "missing" since Lucy arrived; maybe she was looking for a friend. The bright yellow fish near the bottom of the image is Moonbeam, the smaller of the 2 largest koi. The image is taken from the 2d floor window -- the turtles still dive when I enter the garden.

Update June 29, 2009
Lucy is beginning to show herself a tiny bit when I feed them. She'll hide out within or behind plant fronds, but I've actually seen her eat some Reptomin sticks. Chicken later today, we'll see how that goes. Sunshine is getting (or has achieved) humongous, with Moonbeam not far behind!!

Update June 26, 2009
The turtles seem to be settling in. Pascal has taught Lucy to hide from me. Lucy has taught Pascal that sunning on the rocks is nicer than sunning while floating in the water. Pascal still goes 'missing' for days at a time -- I still don't know where she goes. In addition to their normal diet of fish pellets, the fish are getting a varied diet of greens, lightly cooked sweet potato, braised chicken breast, hard boiled egg (shell on), raw carrots, squash, cucumber, Reptomin, sometimes banana -- the turtles are getting this food too, if they move fast enough. Lucy actually seems afraid of the larger koi, and I hardly ever see Pascal. Lucy is darkening from the sun; she's almost as dark as Pascal; but look how her yellow/orange highlights stand out! She's gorgeous. Pascal does seem to be happier now that she has a pond mate. Pics below taken from the dining room window about 11 this morning; Lucy is on the left.

Update June 8, 2009
Pascal re-appeared a couple weeks ago. I don't know if she'd been in the water or in the woodpile. I was very glad to see her. She seemed depressed and lonely, and still quite skittish. I asked Katrina about a friend for her. Lucy was available and I adopted her on May 23, 2009. (Lucy is red eared slider crossed with yellow bellied slider. Her "ear stripe" isn't as prominent and her eyes are somewhat smaller.) Pascal seemed very interested in the new resident. I saw Pascal several times on Lucy's back in the water. I do not believe this is a dominance issue like it could be with dogs. Lucy accepted but didn't seem to rejoice in Pascal's behavior. Since then, Pascal still seems to want the closeness of a friend, but Lucy seems ambivalent. Neither of them stay on the surface when I enter the garden; they immediate dive. If I stay out long enough, Lucy will come to the surface, see me, dive again. After several cycles of this, she will remain floating at the surface as long as I am still. Very, very rarely, Pascal will do the same.

They do not come to the surface to eat Reptomin or greens that I've seen. Remember, the pond is full of large, always hungry koi and goldfish. The only thing I'm sure the turtles eat most of is sinking food, i.e., whole cooked chicken breast and whole hard boiled egg in the shell (and if they don't move fast enough, the koi have shredded and consumed that too). Usually the turtles get some of the baby carrot before the koi eat all of that. I try to leave quickly after tossing in floating food in hopes that the turtles do actually surface to eat before it's gone. My best view of them is from the dining room or 2d floor dressing/guest room windows. The above photo was taken this past Wednesday (June 3) from the dining room; Lucy on the left. I guess they're happy; it's really hard to tell.

Update May 14, 2009
Lost 2 turtles over the winter. C was frozen in the pond surface in March. PHP was dead in one of the plants when we re-shelved it a couple weeks ago. Now, Pascal has gone missing. She was basking about a month ago, then we had many, many days of rain. She was afraid of me (and any other land movement) but I saw her Friday May 8, 2009 when I fed the pond residents. Sun finally came out Saturday May 9 and I expected to see her basking, but she wasn't. Haven't seen her since. Searched wood pile, planting beds -- no sign of her. No remains either. She simply vanished. I'm very depressed.

Update July 26, 2008
Been a while. After the accident, I adopted a very large female from a private party. She had been kept in an acquarium, and I thought I could provide her a much better home. Well, I could BUT she was so aggressive (actually chasing & nipping at C) that I begged Katrina (Turtle Rescue) for help. Katrina was willing to take Ada and adopt to me 2 other females. One is about the size of Perl, we named her Pascal; the other is only about 5 inches, we named her PHP (we pronounce it 'Pip', even though the computer language is NOT pronounced that way). Everyone seemed to be settling in well -- Pascal and PHP have been out and basking, eating well, all things seemed to be going well. The only "scuffling" I've seen is when I've fed them meat of some sort. Once the main feeding is over and they're scrounging for leftovers, PHP and C will sometimes argue over who gets that last little bit (C usually wins, but PHP is quick -- of course, so are the koi).

Anyway, this morning I saw this. Pics are from the dining room window ('cuz I didn't want to disturb them) so the focus isn't the greatest, but they were all basking together (at one of the planned spots even!!). First is full shot, second is section of full shot, third is best I could get with the zoom lens (did I mention I LOVE my new camera? -- Brad got me a digital Nikon camera body (birthday?? i think) to replace the SLR, but I can still use all my SLR lenses and peripherals.) It's really hard to focus thru the plants. Anyway, the third photo: I'm pretty sure that's Pascal in the right front, with PHP resting her head on Pascal's body; I'm pretty sure that's Perl on the left, with the C cuddled up on her back (Perl and Pascal could be the other way around, though). I'm quite happy -- there's finally peace in the pond. Perl has even stopped chasing the fish so often; I think feeding meat has helped that a lot. They seem to really enjoy it -- despite all I've read to the contrary.

Update July 2, 2008
A terrible accident -- the bottom pump intake disconnected from its pipe just a few inches below the water surface. Poor Java was apparently caught in the suction and held underwater -- we found her drowned this morning. One of her scutes was partially raised from her body -- that's where she was "stuck" to the intake. I tried holding her head down, supporting her head and swinging her (like you do with a choking kitten), but it was too late. I'm so sorry Java. This pipe hasn't disconnected in the 4 years we've had it installed, why now??!! DAMNDAMNDAMN!!! RIP, Java. She's buried in the Sun Garden, near Buttons.

Update June 3, 2008
Finally!!! C is out and basking AND so are the other 2 AND they're using one of the planned basking spots AND they're all 3 together!! Again, photo is taken from inside the house 'cuz I didn't want to spook them. I am *so* tickled. That's C, on the left behind the plant, Java on the right in front, and Perl in back. Now, if they'll just learn they can't be casual about eating (or there won't be any left), I think they'll be ok.

Update May 30, 2008
They're not going to get waterlogged, yay!!! It took several days for the other 2 to even show themselves; I was beginning to think they were going to starve, or get waterlogged or something. I still haven't seen C basking yet, but at least she's examining her new home. Perl seems to like basking among the plants (not on any of the planned basking spots, of course), and yesterday about noon, Java joined her. They were both out for several hours, while C was patrolling the water. For a while, I thought she was actually going to use one of the planned exit areas (you can see it just to the right of the water lily pads), but no, she just swam around. At least they have come out of hiding. I saw 2 of them eating veggies yesterday, and discovered that the koi also like yellow sweet pepper, yellow squash, zucchini, and mushrooms (...sigh...) These turtles are going to have to learn quickly that they're not the only ones interested in the food. I cut it into the biggest pieces I thought the turtles would be able to manage, but Sunshine & Moonbeam and Spot & Rorschach are good sized koi, and greedy to boot! Katrina, thanks for the fingernail polish tip - Perl isn't marked, but Red C and shiny pink J helps, a lot!! BTW, these photos were taken from inside the house, so they're not the greatest -- but I didn't want to spook them on their very first outing.

Update May 25, 2008
We have turtles!!! I waited and waited for turtles and/or frogs to come (if you build it, they will come... didn't work). I adopted 3 turtles from MidAtlantic Turtle & Tortoise Society. Made all these plans and arrangements for the turtles to be comfy, be able to bask and enjoy life. Some of the planned basking spots:

Ahh, best laid plans... and all that. The largest turtle (Perl) was interested and moving about. The other 2 (C and Java), spent their time hiding. So far, I've only seen their noses when they come up for air. When they come out, I'll get pics of them, too. Perl had basking plans of her own. She climbed the vertical end of the pond (about 7 inches from water line!!), she climbed the waterfall edging rocks (we had turned off the waterfall for maintenance). She did not use the carefully designed, easy to use ramps to prepared basking spots. I watched to be sure she could get back down the waterfall rocks, but she made it on her own. I hope she doesn't do that again.

First day photos (5/26/2008):

Update Summer, 2007
A Surprise Visitor
He eyed it up for a while, but didn't try to step in. Photo taken from inside the house. (and, notice the improvement in the landscaping since the 2004 photos.)

Summer, 2004
This pond was dug late last summer. We had bigger ideas this time around. It's going to be 12 feet wide and 20 feet long and at least 4 feet deep. Hah!! This land is part of what used to be a granite quarry!! *All* the red rocks around the pond and waterfall were dug out to make hole for the pond. We tried to hire someone to do the actual digging. After a few hours, he said we couldn't pay him enough to finish. Brad, with a little help from me, actually dug this entire pond. We settled on 10 feet wide by 16 feet long, and about 3 1/2, maybe 4 feet deep. These photos are from it's first summer (2004). You can see there's still a lot of landscaping to be done, but it is marvelous to have an evening sit in the garden. The four large koi came from the small pond. We dipped about 18 baby koi and moved them to the small pond and moved 5 of the larger goldfish to this pond early this summer. I've heard that half-breeds are sterile. We can only hope.

Storm Damage August, 2002
The beginning of the end for 2 magnificent old maples (one out front and one out back). They had to be removed the following year.

Storm Damage

Return to Natural Wonder Art Home