A common sight

One thing I love about living in Aurora is all the geese activity.  Each spring, thousands fly overhead on their journey north, and each fall I see them again for their trip south.  Enjoy these pictures taken from my backyard.

Thanks, but no new pets for us.

We had a most unwelcome visitor in our backyard recently.  Can you spot him?

How about now? 

The Big Guy had quite a surprise when he was out grilling. I suppose this is one hazard of having your property back up to a wetlands preserve.

The Big Guy dashed in the house when he saw this, leading me to dash out with the camera and a rake.

My plan was to get the snake on the rake and escort him back to the brush at the edge of our property line.

It worked, but it took several minutes. I had a hard time keeping the snake on the rake (oooh...that rhymes!) and take a picture at the same time. Snakes just don't want to pose for pictures, you know?

Backyard visitors

We are very fortunate to live right next to a wetland preserve. No neighbors at all behind us, just a field, a stream and a lot of wildlife.

Of course, right now it just looks like a field of weeds.

Sometimes the wildlife comes right into our backyard. Earlier this week, Mr. and Mrs. Duck stopped by for a visit. There was a puddle in the sand pit (former owners had a pool there) and they were using that as a bath.

The pictures were taken through the sliding glass door in the kitchen.

As soon as they spotted us spotting them, they decided to find a backyard with more privacy. And less photographers.

Mr. and Mrs. Duck aren't into having their private moments documented for TMI. If they come back, we'll have to be more discreet with the camera.