If A Snail Could Smile...

If a snail could smile, I imagine it might look something like this. I believe it is a Roman Snail which is invasive in North America. This species has 2 sets of antennae. The upper pair has the eyes, and the lower pair host the sensors. Because of its large size, this species is eaten as Escargot in French cuisine!

A tiny Painted Turtle basked in the sun on Wednesday. I wondered if it was 

stuck until a nearby frog jumped, and the turtle quickly dove into the water.

The much larger Snapping Turtle was also taking a rest on a warm spring day.

Still near the pond, a pair of damselflies were mating in the wheel position.

A rough looking robin dries out after the thunder storm from the night before!

This Common Ringlet survived the winter months in the caterpillar stage!

A Killdeer flew noisy circles around us while we walked along a trail. There 

must have been a nest nearby but he never resorted to performing the 

broken wing trick, so we must not have been too close.

A pair of Chipping Sparrows fought over this larva. The victor had a good lunch!

I misidentified a Spicebush Swallowtail in a recent post. I called it a Black Swallowtail. I'll use poor light conditions as my excuse, but this butterfly, is in fact a Black Swallowtail. 

I am beginning to see more and more of them with the warming weather!