We are surrounded by wildlife, even though some of it’s pretty small. Like this adorable (to me, anyway) baby horned lizard in my 8 year old granddaughter’s  hand. There is something “Yoda” about him…so tiny but with those ancient, wise looking eyes.

And then there’s the iridescent blue and green beetle that came by to say hello. I was washing dishes and noticed a BUG on my blouse. My first impulse was to hurriedly brush it off, but that gorgeous color stopped me. I rushed outside with this tiny living brooch perched near a button so I could show the menfolk. (My husband Ed, son David and grandson Cassidy were loading up the truck for a trip to town.)

For men, I thought they were suitably impressed! David took a photograph, but alas, the little bug was small and out of focus.

But he was so pretty! Cassidy said it reminded him of a hologram.

Luckily, I like Bugs

There are actually a lot of cool bugs in New Mexico. Like the hardworking black beetles that trudge around all over our property. They are completely harmless, and always seem kind of busy and preoccupied. We leave them to their tasks, which sometimes involves exploring our flagstone floors. Then I return them to the great outdoors.

As summer heats up, we’ll see the return of wasps and yellow jackets. They never bother me except for having to trap them in yogurt containers and release them outside. They tend to congregate in the windows both upstairs and down, and make a bit of a racket buzzing in frustration.

And the cicadas! I thought they were noisier in Florida, but once they got revved up and going here in New Mexico, their sound eclipsed just about everything else, including the wind blowing down from the mountains and whatever my grand kids happen to be telling me. Standing underneath a juniper with their concert going full blast, you have to talk pretty loud just to be heard.

Birds in the Family Way

Best of all, I have nesting birds all around our place…over 15 hummingbirds (I have no idea where their nests are, but somewhere up in those tall pinons, I expect), and then there’s the two unidentified birds building nests in the backyard bird houses.

Most fun for me are the flycatchers that have built a nest on top of an outdoor light above the pump room, which is conveniently located outside my kitchen window. Washing dishes these days is entertaining because mama and papa are making constant migrations to and fro the nest with beaks full of flies and other tasty bug morsels.

I’m loving life in the country!