Found her on Franklin Street, rat nap.
Category: fauna
Didelphis virginiana
New work on view at McGuffey Art Center in Charlottesville, The above a personal favorite, “Juvenile”, ink on paper, by Selena Hitzeman.
Lived with two house-possums in the 1970’s. I had heard they were good at killing mice and could be house-trained.
I think the DMB owns the cabin now, near Foster’s Branch.
Carassius auratus auratus
Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Hyphantria cunea
The good thing. Eagle was on overwatch while I pushed the lawnmower.
On the ground, trees are defoliated by some variety of tent caterpillar. They seem to be partial to walnut and pecan trees but they are munching on the yearling oaks as well.
Silhouetted.
Hoping someone can help me with critter ID.
RMH says:
The fall webworm feeds on just about any type of deciduous tree, where leaves are chewed; branches or the entire tree may become defoliated. Worldwide, it has been recorded from 636 species,[6] and is considered to be among the most polyphagous of insects. In the eastern U.S., pecan, walnut, American elm, hickory, fruit trees, and some maples are preferred hosts; in some areas persimmon and sweetgum are also readily eaten. In the west, alder, willow, cottonwood and fruit trees are commonly used.–Wikipedia
Cygnus olor, Swan v Automobile
eating machine
Caterpillars have about 4,000 muscles (compare humans, with 629). They move through contraction of the muscles in the rear segments pushing the blood forward into the front segments elongating the torso. The average caterpillar has 248 muscles in the head segment alone. Wikipedia
bucket of bugs
Ardea herodias herodias
Great Blue is the largest North American heron, with a head-to-tail length of 91–140 cm (36-55 in), a wingspan of 167-201 cm (66-79 in), and a weight of 2–3.6 kg (4.4-8 lbs).–Wikipedia
The herons on Town Creek sound a little like this.
Great_Blue_Heron
Ardea herodias herodias
The Great Blue Heron was one of the many species originally described by Carolus Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae.–Wikipedia
(herons and the ospreys do not socialize)
Pandion haliaetus
The Osprey is unusual in that it is a single species that occurs nearly worldwide.–Wikipedia
(this is the way I keep house)