Once again the deer abound in our neighborhood. In the evenings they congregate at a house near the front of the subdivision where a woman puts out corn every night. It is wonderful to see these creatures, but there are hazards as well. Being at the entrance of the subdivision, these deer often shoot across the busy road. 

Monday, 9:50 AM - out for a Memorial Day hike with my daughter on Cook’s Trail and SURPRISE!!!... an Eastern Kingsnake! I don’t seem to encounter as many kingsnakes as I used to in my college days, so it was a pleasant discovery. It was the first my daughter had seen in the wild. This one was a few feet long and getting bigger: his eyes were blue indicating he would be soon to shed. Cook's Trail is a 4 mile trail that runs between Sandy Creek Nature Center and Sandy Creek Park, two of our favorite local walking and boating recreation areas. 

Monday, 4:10 PM - Working as an animal control officer provides ample one-on-one photo opportunities with various creatures. The wonderful part is that I don’t have to spend hours going to hunt for wildlife, but people call me straight to them.
 
Throughout the spring and summer, many of our animal control calls are of the slithering sort. Even if just a harmless garden-variety snake, many people have an over-the-top fear of snake… and right away are up-on-top of a table and calling 911!
 
The main slithering subject of our animal control calls is the Eastern Rat Snake, or Black Ratsnake. About 85% or more of the calls are regarding Pantherophis alleghaniensis, the scientific name for this common eastern colubrid. Because of their abundance and ability to climb, they are no strangers to the insides of garages, sheds and even people’s living rooms!
 
Ratsnakes are terrestrial and arboreal. They are quite skilled at scaling the sides of tree bark and even brick homes. It is an amazing sight to place a Ratsnake on the side of a tree and watch him climb effortlessly, each scute grabbing ahold of the bark.
 
According to another website, in addition to their close proximity to households, they occur in many types of habitats, including agricultural areas, most types of hardwood forests, isolated urban woodlots, and forested wetlands. These snakes are often found in barns and old buildings where their primary prey, small rodents, occur in abundance.

Wednesday, 3:41 PM - The retention pond behind my office in Monroe, Georgia is loaded with turtles! There are plenty of huge sliders, but there are often smaller dark brown guys secreting around the aquatic vegetation. These plain brown shelled reptiles with the yellow stripes on their faces are Common Musk Turtles, Sternotherus odoratus. Occasionally we find them crossing our parking lot, perhaps heading for another nearby pond.

According to the Savannah River Ecology Lab: Common musk turtles occur throughout the eastern U.S. in a variety of aquatic habitats. They are most common in shallow water-bodies with low currents, abundant aquatic vegetation, and soft organic bottoms and they are often seen foraging in shallow water in the evening. 
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It is sometimes called a “stinkpot”. This is reportedly for an ability to release a foul musky odor from scent glands on the edge of its shell. The more scientific sounding description of this trait is found in its scientific species name, ‘odoratus’. 

​Walton County, Georgia

Saturday, 11:35 PM – ​The term "supermoon" was coined in 1979 to describe a full moon that coincides with perigee (its closest point to earth) --something that happens about once a year, on average. At the time of this photo, the moon was 221,801 miles from our planet, and that close approach coincided with the official full moon phase. It appeared about 15 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the other full moons of 2012. 

Tuesday, 10:33 AM - Monroe, Georgia. - ​“Bill! Come here! Quick!”  I got up from my desk and scooted along in haste from my office at the rear of the Animal Control admin building. “You’ve got a friend under your car.” I slowed my pace in disappointment figuring it was just one of the many stray cats dumped out after hours at our animal shelter. But as I looked, “Now that’s no cat!”  

A gangly raccoon (Procyon lotor) was tip-toeing around the parking lot, sniffing, prowling, scratching the ground. I ran back to my office for my Nikon. As I came out the front door, he hunched up his back and gave me an, “I see you!” look. Of course, not following my own animal control wisdom occasionally dolled out to elementary school children, I approached a wild raccoon that was out-and-about in broad daylight. A site that makes many afraid! 

Despite popular belief, it isn’t necessarily true that any animal seen in daylight has rabies. In the spring and summer months, many species of wildlife, even the nocturnal, are forced into daylight excursions on the hunt for food to feed their recently born offspring. Crepuscular animals may also be seen foraging on overcast days.  But whether rabid or not, they are wild animals, not pets, and trying to pet them is just, well, foolish. 

​I didn’t suspect our parking lot raccoon of rabies. As I approached, he continued his searching and smelling with frequent glances in my direction. Eventually, the closer I got, he casually sauntered back down the willow lined drainage ditch leading to the woods behind the shelter, being more weary and afraid of me than I was of him. 

For many it would have been a fearful encounter with a rabid animal. For me, it was a photo-op and a little bit of joy encountering one of His creatures… even if it was out in the middle of the day!