Those are great pictures!!! Love those painted buntings! It's hard to imagine that birds with that many bright colors live in Texas. We almost always see them near the little lake that's on the walking trail in Lost Maples park when we go.

I saw one when camping out along a river when I was a little kid and excitedly ran back to camp and told my family about it. My Dad insisted, "Naw, there's no such bird that color." After I was grown I would buy every post card, calender and figurine picturing it I could find and give him to prove there was such a bird! LOL He's just smile kind of sheepishly.

I'm not sure, but I think the squrrels are what we called 'rock squirrels'. They lived in rocky cliffs and rock piles rather than in trees and we'd see them up around Bandara, but once they spotted us they'd scamper off quickly as they were very shy. Lucky you to have them and so many beautiful animals and birds near by -- except for the deer maybe :-)

Thanks so much for posting the pictures!

Thanks, Neal used the long lens and he's better with it than I am. I stayed in the house by the window because hopping around and saying things like "ooh, pretty" would not have been very helpful.

Love that "no such bird" story! I had a couple of those jokes with my dad too.

I looked up the rock squirrels and that's what we have in our yard. They are much more shy than the gray squirrels and are trying to dig a burrow in the rocky ground instead of nesting in the trees. We wish them good luck with that! Thanks for the tip because we were definitely wondering.

We really enjoy the deer too since we plan for them in the yard. The water the rock squirrel is drinking is actually out for the deer. We don't enjoy the skunks or the racoons that cost us $1K in roof repairs a couple years ago.

Those Painted Buntings are beautiful! I wish some of those would come to my feeder. Like Roselee, I've seen them at Lost Maples. There has been a pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at my feeder for a week. I had never seen them before. People are seeing them in Houston too. Someone suggested that the drought has driven them farther south than usual.
Thanks for posting your pictures.
Jim

This is one of the birds I miss so here in North Texas. Having grown up fifty miles east of Austin, I saw many of them in that area (shy little birds though they are), but they are very scarce in my garden. I do see the male occasionally, and the females are at the feeders some, but both are rare for me. Thanks for posting these pics......they are, indeed, beautiful birds.

I get blue red and yellow birds here too. A jay,cardinal and cedar wax wing. Seriously, those buntings are just gorgeous. I've never seen a black squirrel before how cool. You can keep the deer. I just got done sort of out smarting the bunnies :)

LOL, PJ! That's a good one. We've only seen a few cedar wax wings this year and would love to see more.

No bunnies around here usually, we have coyotes.

Something did get inside the completely enclosed garden this week. Completely enclosed with top of chicken wire hooked onto nails! I missed a few hooks and something got in and ate the tomato plant down to the ground. It's growing back quickly, but no tomatoes this spring because it will be too hot soon. :-[

I'll bet one of your neighbors has extra maters! I'm sorry yours got all et up tho.

Oh, wish I were nearer............I have tomato seedlings that produce even during the hot summer months.

Carrie - What type of tomatoes? I've heard they have more heatproof types now, but haven't tried any yet so would love to know. What part of TX are you in?

PJ - I wish, but the one neighbor who gardens gave up on tomatoes a few years ago. It's a really big challenge here in San Antonio because we get late cold snaps and early heat almost every spring.

I brought this tomato home in a four inch pot from a plant swap a few years back, and I don't remember it's being tagged. It is a medium size cherry that has a wonderful flavor and just laughs at the Texas sun. I grow it in full sun, it produces all summer and then I harvest the green ones before the first frost and they ripen over time. It reseeds for me each year. Wish I could be of more help with the name, but that is the story of this great little tomato.

My cherry tomato volunteered this spring from last year. A neighbor was throwing out a dead wheelbarrow just in time for me to try to grow a tomato in it! I'm thinking a few drainholes and it'll be splendid.

A wheelbarrow planter is a great idea. I wish I had gotten he one I saw during the last big trash day.

I am so excited...........my male painted bunting made a showing just now at my bay window. First time I have seen him this Spring...he just simply does NOT hang around long enough.

OK where is MY painted bunting huh? huh? NOOO I get a rat trying to set up shop!

Oh how lucky to have painted buntings!!! Just gorgeous!

The painted buntings haven't been around lately, or at least we haven't seen them. I've read they like white millet so I might try that and see if I can figure out a pattern to attract them. Currently we have a pair of Curve Billed Thrashers which are not as pretty, but quite distinctive.

PJ - We had a rat on the deck yesterday morning. It was walking around sniffing for seeds and disappeared before DH could get out there. I've never seen a rat here before.