While we are well aware of their destructive nature, our new groundhog is staying well away from the house, so it's not a problem. This is the first time we've seen one on our place.
painted turtle
turkey vulture
Black vulture, taken through the screen window
These are smaller and tend to be more aggressive than the turkey vultures.
Emily came to me and said, "Mom, there are two really, really, really BIG black birds in the side yard."
Me: "It sounds like crows, sweetheart. Go back to your school work."
Emily with a serious you-need-to-check-this-out-to-make-me-feel-safe tone: "Mom, (pause) it's a CREEPY kind of bird."
I did a double take at how close to the window it was. Then I went to see what had it breaking our understanding of "you stay over there and I'll stay over here." My middle children had left the hose on (FOR HOURS-UGH!) and a pond of clean water had formed. This guy and a buddy came to drink!
Of course, when I see a vulture, I remember Caleb's hilarious efforts to catch one. I didn't let him stop taking baths, but he did put effort into it.
