Everyday Canvas

All those Creatures!

Prompt:
How observant are you of the creatures around us. Like if ant hills are high in July, the coming winter will be hard. or Thicker-than-normal corn husks.
Woodpeckers sharing a tree or the early arrival of the snowy owl, or the early departure of geese and ducks or the early migration of the Monarch butterfly or how high the hornet's nest, 'twill tell how high the snow will rest.? Discuss what you're aware of as signs of winter.

------

Since I don't have the four seasons where I live, I wouldn't know how to predict anything from the work of the creatures around. Yet, creatures around me abound in hordes.

The cutest ones are the white Snowy Egrets. They usually show up after the tractors as they are cutting the lawns and grab the grubs and worms before they can retreat into the soil. Many a time, I've worried that one of those white birds would be run over by the tractor, but they don't. At least that I have seen so far. Their cousins are the much larger Great Florida Egrets and our snowy Egrets look and move almost exactly as the Great egrets, but I rarely see the Great Egrets from my house. Another bird species are the human-sized beige and brownish Sandhill Cranes that are afraid of nobody and show up with the golfers on the golf course to stop many a game. Pigeons, sandpipers, and rarely doves or bald eagles visit also. I once saw a bald eagle catch a large rabbit and kill it. Its wingspan, as it leaned on the rabbit on the ground was huge. I'd say possibly it was six to seven feet, the size of a small room. That scene I didn't like to see. In fact, it traumatizes me each time its vision pops up into my mind.

What I like to get a glimpse of, however, are the migrating birds either from the South or from the North. I don't know what their species are called but I can hear them from time to time. Once in a blue moon, flycatchers, ducks, warblers and the like show up at the backyard or on the golf course.

Then, rarely again, I see a toad or a frog or a snake, although snakes are dime a dozen and sometimes they sneak into the garage. Over the years, I learned not to be afraid of snakes and I shoo them out with the help of a spray can or a water hose.

Salamanders, also, are dime a dozen, but they are not a problem. During the recent years, a larger kind of a salamander with a red head has crept up to our area. They say, it has arrived from Mexico. I like to watch them as they nod their heads up and down and run like the wind when they are not sure if I'll hurt them or not. A few have gotten used to me and are climbing up the screens over the porch area when I'm outside. My cat especially likes to watch them.

What gets me and I can't even bear to see are the Palmetto bugs, the much larger cousins of the cockroach. They live in the palm trees, and once in a while, they end up inside the houses. And boy! Can they be sneaky! The exterminator service only takes care of the yard and the porch. Due to my cat, I don't let the service spray inside the house. So it's up to me to be vigilant and keep the food items well covered.

Still, not all the smallest creatures turn me off. Butterflies, for example. Once I saw a butterfly which looked exactly like a zebra. I found out it was called the Zebra Butterfly. I guess what has wings and can wear the same clothes as those that have legs can be called with a similar name. Most butterflies I notice here, however, are yellowish or orange Monarchs. There's something about the butterflies that means happiness. If only the birds, salamanders, and other creatures could leave them alone!