A Little Bit of....Around the House

The other morning we were invaded. No, not by aliens but honey bees. They were swarming where one of our dormers meets the rest of the roof. I was concerned they were trying to come in the house or get in the attic. But...they gathered for awhile then left. This has happened before but they were around our bay window.

My Dad used to have hives and a swarm did come into our house so I wasn't being completely paranoid. They, too, soon left. I am not afraid of them or, better yet, not allergic so I don't panic. I just find their behavior curious sometimes. They are utterly fascinating. Watching them work can be as soothing as watching fish in an aquarium. And, oh, that honey!! YUM!

A view from my husband's window in the nerd room. A young Mockingbird. He was getting a drink from the lid of the milk can.

The other day my husband came running into the house and told me he had found an alligator by the pool. Now, that is not as odd as it sounds. We do have them. They are occasionally found in stock tanks and even in some swimming pools. They are not native this far north, however. They are someone's pet, purchased when they were young and small then released when they started to grow. So, there was the teeniest, tiniest chance that he actually did see one. Especially with the weather we had been having. Really, it did rain small fish once. Strange things DO happen. So on the off chance that this was one of them, I grabbed my camera and went to check it out. This I know. I have absolutely no idea what kind of lizard this is, never saw this one before, but I absolutely do know that it is not an alligator.