May 10: Pileated woodpecker and skinks

[neverspent]

Strong storms all night Sunday to Monday, so everything was muddy when I went for a walk with the dogs. But it was still cloudy, so the light was diffuse and easy on the eyes. We scared up a pileated woodpecker in the woods. They're always impressive – giants among woodpeckers, with bright red heads and mostly black bodies. They're the ones that get confused with the ivory-billed woodpecker, but they don't have as much white on their backs and wings.

Later when I opened an old bag of pine bark mulch to spread on a flower bed I planted Saturday, I found a lot more wildlife: centipedes, other creepy crawlies, and, delightfully, two skinks. One was a full-sized adult, with a fat body and gorgeous copper stripes lined with black. The other was smaller and still had its bright blue tail. It wasn't easy getting a photo!

Comments

[donutsweeper]

oooh the skink is so pretty!

[neverspent]

The adults and the juveniles are both gorgeous, but the blue tails on the young'uns are so striking. We used to love to catch them, but I feel bad when they shed the ends of their tails.