Since we are all socializing a lot less these days we thought we would get more posts out whenever we could, just so it feels as if we are actually communicating with people. So bare with us and we will try to make them as interesting as possible until we can get back out in the world.
Since everyone here is in self-isolation it seems that the only ones allowed out on the streets anymore are the animals. Most of them are staying away from the restaurants for obvious reasons, but the turkeys are hitting the casinos hard.
There are a lot of strange and unexplained noises out in the jungle, especially at night. The other night we were watching TV and there was a loud crash, and then something went running through the bush. We immediately jumped up and went outside with our flashlights and camera, but we saw nothing. After a while longer we started to hear this loud howling and grunting noise, it was the Howler Monkeys. They were in the trees right across from the house, plus we could hear more just down the road. We waited outside in the dark with a camera and flashlights hoping to get a picture, but nothing. So after a while we went back inside and headed to bed. Not long after that, we lost all power and when that happens in the jungle it’s very, very dark. It’s a good thing we weren’t watching a scary movie before this happened because with all that howling and grunting, plus the power going out, that could have really freaked us out. This is a picture of a Howler Monkey we took at the zoo and as you can see they can be pretty scary, especially when they are making all this noise and you are in total darkness.
Here’s a few other critters we’ve seen around here lately.
Kelley was watering the plants in the garden earlier this week when this big tarantula went crawling by. I’m sure most of you have seen tarantulas before out in the wild and know they are big spiders. Kelley has been around tarantulas all here life (growing up in Arizona) but she swore this is by far the biggest one she had ever seen. I bet he was probably 6+ inches across, even I admit that was a very big spider. He eventually crawled off into the bush unharmed.
There seems to be a lot more animals moving around and maybe that’s because the people aren’t. Anyway, we have had all kinds of birds around here lately. The other night a big Toucan landed in the tree across from the house and Kelley got some good pictures from the front porch.
Then the other evening Kelley saw a snake go into the garage, this is the first one we know of that went into the garage. We searched all over inside and couldn’t find him. We even sat outside the garage with the door open hoping we would see him come out. I really wanted him out of there because the next day I was going to do some work under the Jeep and I didn’t need any surprises while laying on my back. So the next morning I open up the garage like I do every day, and a few minutes later out he went. He was just a 3’ Speckled Racer, which are colorful and very fast snakes that are totally harmless… unless you’re a frog or something. In the meantime, I’ve sprayed around the house and garage with a homemade snake repellent. The locals say to grind up garlic in water and let set in the sun a few days then spray around your house. I’m sure they know what they are talking about.
There are lots of different types of lizards around the property that range in size from just a few inches long up to some 5′ iguanas. We haven’t seen any iguanas around the house yet but we have seen them up by the pond and at the top of our road. This picture was taken the other day on our road, so I know they have to be around the house somewhere.
At this point, the biggest lizard we have seen around the house is about 2′ and he was a Jesus Christ Lizard. Most of the ones around the house though are on the smaller size, such as Geckos and Anoles. Here is a couple of pictures of the ones that help control the insects around the house.
There seems to be lots of baby squirrels around the house lately too. They are running around gathering up Cohune Nuts that have fallen off the trees and taking them back up another tree to eat. They are cool to watch and besides that, they are helping us clean up all the nuts around the yard. 
We are in the middle of the dry season here and animals are out looking for water. So the clearing we have out away from the house I put out a big bowl of water and a trail camera in front of it. Hopefully, we’ll have some good pictures in a few weeks.
Wow.. some great pictures… kinda got me at snake~ ugh ….I hate my fear of snakes … Toucan was the best! Beautiful! Hey congrats on the newest addition! She is bound to be loved, spoiled and a Tom boy! So excited for you! 💞
Uh…are you sure the snake is a racer? Looks more like a Checked Mamba. Might want to be sure.
Quite the variety of critters. We have a similar tarantula in AZ, not near that size though.
Just kidding about the snake 😉
Brad & Carol