Tree Trunk Trickster

Just a quick post of cute little faker...the larva of a green lacewing. Look at the clumps of lichen in the photo. The topmost clump is an insect larva in disguise. With a little gentle persuasion from the tip of Treebeard's knife blade, we were able to pry the little beastie from the tree trunk. I flipped it over in my hand and snapped a quick picture before it flipped back over, turtle style. Seconds later it was back on the tree trunk, busy being what it is.

 
  

Can't quite exactly figure out how this happened. Did the wax myrtle reach out and grab the pine cone as it fell...and why didn't the dense cone rip through the relatively tender leaves??? What goes on out there while we aren't looking?

Jean seeds...

One very geriatric groundhog (Marmota monax) . I think this little guy might be some sort of rodent record holder - he appeared to be very old :)

Downy woodpecker, Picoides pubescens, waiting patiently for us to step away from his suet block.

Heart's a-bustin', a.k.a. strawberry bush. Real name: Euonymus americanus.