Monday, June 4, 2012

My Garden Friends




When I lived in Texas my garden was a Certified Wildlife Habitat. 




That meant that I provided the four necessary elements
for birds, butterflies, fish and some other critters  to thrive.



To be certified you must provide water, food, cover
and a place for them to raise their young.





Of course I had squirrels which I didn't mind too much,
but the opossums, raccoons, and rats
(that liked to eat the bird food at night) were another thing.  
I didn't like the snakes, black widow spiders and little scorpions either!



If you look closely you can see two glistening spiderwebs over the pond. I didn't mind the run of the mill garden spiders as they ate the insects I didn't like.




This was one of the MANY dragonflies that visited the pond on a regular basis. Most of them were the big blue ones and the little blue damselflies.





I took this picture with my left hand so he's a little blurry but I had lizards everywhere!




We had baby toads (polliwogs) in the pond every spring. Then they would all grow their arms and legs and crawl out of the pond. 




I believe this guy is a type of walking stick bug. 
He was much skinnier and longer than the  
praying mantis that I usually saw.





Our little tiny 'feeder' fish got HUGE and had lots of babies once or twice a year.



Now this little guy had shelter, food, and water... 
but I never did see any offspring.



Well thanks for stopping by to see some of my garden friends. I have more garden pictures to share but they are on the 'broken' computer. Hopefully they can be recovered.





xoxo 
Bunny Jean


21 comments:

Decor To Adore said...

Your backyard is beautiful and inspiring! I would want to live there as a creature!

Anonymous said...

Hi Bunny Jean! Oh, I live in Texas and could never have a garden like yours! How beautiful is your little pond area! I believe you have a green thumb. You took it with you when you moved from Texas didn't you?
Be a sweetie,
shelia ;)

Creations By Cindy said...

Oh you had a sweet garden. I love all the critters too! Love walking outside my house and never knowing what I will see....birds, Duck, chickens, squirrels (and lots of them). Saw a deer last year...Love all the beauty! Hugs and blessings, Cindy

Shabby chic Sandy said...

Such a interesting post! I will have to show my husband. He would be interested in it. The little lizard looks like a leopard gecko. The toad is adorable. You are a multi talented woman!

Alison @ The Polohouse said...

Hello Bunny Jean!
Welcome!
I am so thrilled that you came by and shared your gorgeous wildlife sanctuary with all of us!
What an amazing place.
I see you are in CA now so you must have a completely different kind of garden there in the west I am guessing?

Would love to have a water feature -- still! Had one a few years back but had to take it out when we got our retrievers. They think they are part fish or duck I swear and we could not keep them out of it!

Thanks so much for coming by and sharing.

Alison :)
Nice to meet you!

Jennifer @ Town and Country Living said...

What a beautiful garden! I love your fish and all the little critters. Ponds are wonderful, aren't they?

Lynn said...

Bunny Jean, I love everything about this post, even the beautiful spiderwebs! The garden was beautiful! I'd like to have a little fish pond in my garden but the raccoons would just eat the fish. Enjoyed yours!

kitty@ Kitty's Kozy Kitchen said...

Hi Bunny Jean, I loved seeing pics of your Texas garden. The little gnome looks so cute by his sweet little house. p.s. I live in the DFW area.

Pam~ Virginia Retro said...

Oh, I really loved seeing your wonderful garden. Supporting nature, just glorious...even with the creepier guests.

Kathe said...

I've learned to live with all the little creepers in my garden. They all serve some purpose there. Although, each year I do have to have the talk with the garter snakes. As long as they stay away from me, I'll stay away from them lol! I love your sweet gnome. I hope he made the move with you? Thanks for sharing at the party this week!

Sweet Posy Dreams said...

What a wonderful garden you had in Texas. I believe I see lamb's ears -- I just love those but don't seem to have much luck with them in my garden.

Doll in the Looking Glass said...

Bunny Jean --

Your Texas home wildlife habitat was awesome. What a perfect spot to sit and cool off and admire the blooms and critters large and small.

A number of years ago we enjoyed watching the baby possums that visited our yard. Until they started to crawl into the dryer vent!

Hugs,
Debra

Tina´s PicStory said...

great shots! this walking stick is cool :)

Jocelyn said...

Love your garden! We too have feeder fish that are growing :-) Your pictures are great.

Jocelyn @
http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com

Ann said...

Oh what a fabulous garden you had in Texas, very lush. Do you still garden in Callifornia? I love the little fairy house.
ann

Anonymous said...

Your garden looks like it was a fun place to spend the afternoon, though I have to admit some of those creatures probably would have scared me to touch! I enjoyed seeing the dragonflies and the fish make me wish we still had our pond. We put one in, but we began having a lot of snakes. Some of the snakes on our property grow quite large, and since we have small dogs, we opted to eventually fill the pond in. Yours was very lovely though.

Thanks for sharing with us at Your Cozy Home party this week. I do hope you will visit us again!

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Bunny, I think your garden is a paradise for animals as well as humans. Seeing all of the fun critters was a delight. We have Praying Manthis, but I have not had a walking stick. Mostly this year we have had tons of those GIANT Bumbles. Thanks for sharing!
Hugs,
Jann

Liz @ Sit With Me In My Garden said...

Hello Bunny Jean!
Love your pictures! I guess my garden area could qualify for wildlife habitat too! We used to have a pond with fish and all that came with it! Cute hobbit! I like the little green fence addition! Too cute! Something got into my fairy garden and chewed up a few things!! WAR!!

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Hi Bunny, just wanted to hop back over and say thanks so much for linking this fun post with Share Your Cup.
Hugs,
Jann

Dee ⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️⚜️ said...

I loved seeing your garden. Nature at it's finest.

Dee

Patty 's Mom 😉 said...

Hello! I love your beautiful garden. I too have a catio for my cats and would love to have more plants. Probably this spring, as its getting too cold right now! Blessings for providing a wonderful place for our beloved animals.



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