As a result of our efforts to restore our acreage to a more natural state, we have been blessed with an abundance of living creatures, and Regina has been able to capture most of these in her photographs. In case you didn’t know, Regina is a very good photographer who spends a lot of time and effort creating some magnificent shots. Here are a few of her more than 2500 photos of the species we have:

Butterflies

We have 17 different species of butterflies that have visited our habitat. All these are great pollinators, so our plants benefit from their presence. Plus, they are pleasant to watch.

Dragonflies and Damselflies

Mostly around our ponds, the dragonflies and damselflies have been prolific, especially since we stopped mowing and weed-eating. The rain this Summer has also helped. These are beautiful and mysterious creatures.

Bees

When we talk about bees, we are generally limiting our conservation to honey bees, but here are photos of 4 different species of bees in our environment. Honey bees were imported from Europe, but the rest of these are native. Although all of them help with the pollination efforts, the native bees are actually more efficient pollinators than the honey bees.

Birds

With feeders, water, and foliage in abundance, the birds are happy to visit us. Here are some shots of the more than 25 species of birds and water fowl we have been able to enjoy in our little oasis.

Wildlife

Although most of the wildlife is nocturnal, such as skunks, raccoons, and coyotes, Regina was able to catch this cutie one morning this week. He or she seemed very camera shy. We also have rabbits and squirrels, and even a feral cat that hangs around sometimes.

By the way, we did receive our certification from Texan by Nature. This organization was founded by former First Lady Laura Bush. The purpose of the organization is to develop and encourage projects just like the one we are implementing. Some of the projects are much larger than ours, but as I said at the beginning, we are only responsible for our little piece of ground.

This is exactly what it is all about.