A lot of seeds and some fur in this fresh scat close to the lake.
My foot is there for size comparison.
Can anyone identify the source? Big raccoon?
How about this track? It looks like a mountain lion to me. Cat shaped and over 3″. Folks report that there are a few mountain lions around but they are rare. Maybe just a big bob cat? Found by a water trough not too far from the house.
Another discovery from today. The beaver has been busy felling this small tree by the lake. 
Last night we saw him swimming fast across the creek from this direction toward his dam. I’ll see if the tree is still there tomorrow.
This zig zag through the grass puzzled me until I got closer. Leaf cutter ants made their tiny version of a game trail carrying boxwood leaves to their underground nest.
I love introducing my friends to Little Piney and had a great time birding with Mary and Andrea today. We spotted this double-crested cormorant several times before he perched across the creek long enough to be identified. We heard this little downy woodpecker knocking above us.
A dead tree across the way where the herons and osprey perch to fish is now a high rise condo for chickadees! We saw them popping in and out of a small hollow. The busy couple spent the day making round trips from a mossy tree, gathering the soft goods that make an apartment a home.
Just before dusk, Ken and I watched these two pileated woodpeckers courting. The female preened while the male approached her then swooped away several times.
The trees are budding out and soon these beautiful creatures will be even harder to spot. I guess then I’ll busy identifying the trees and wildflowers. I planted a new tree yesterday, a native black cherry. Many thanks to my gardener friend in Austin, Michael Charles, who just happened to have one he had been growing in a pot for the last five years!