Saw a huge non-snapping turtle laying eggs by Phairs Pond the other day, and saw two more (above) laying eggs in the yard yesterday morning.

The first one was so large that I could not find anything large enough for a size comparison. It was a good 10 inches. (A quarter or nickel would not do the job.)

If you're driving near the CF, look out for these guys. I think they are native Eastern Painted Turtles. More about NJ turtles here.

On my visit to DeKorte Park on Wednesday, I checked out an array of butterflies, including a camera-shy Monarch, lots of skippers and a Gilligan, and these two cool Swallowtails on Coneflowers.

Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park is only eight days away.

Bergen County Audubon's Don Torino and I created the event way back in 2010. So glad it is going strong! This is the eighth annual.

More info is here.

DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst is looking terrific these days, with more native plants than ever.

Saw two clear-winged moths in the Jill Ann Ziemkiewicz Memorial Butterfly Garden yesterday. The reddish one is a Hummingbird Clear-winged Moth, and I'm thinking the blacker one -- actually perched ona leaf -- is a Snowberry. 

Really get a good look at those almost clear wings.

Butterfly Day at DeKorte (and Diurnal Moth Day) is just nine days away.

Maybe it's just me, but Diurnal Moth Day just doesn't sound as cool, for some reason.

Since my wife and I live near the Celery Farm, which is overrun with White-tailed Deer, the native plants in our yard have taken a beating (or should I say "an eating")?

This spring we have added a new plant to the mix -- Prickly Pear Cactus -- which is native to New Jersey. So far, the deer have said "ix-nay" to the "actus-cay."

Nice-looking bloom, too. I've seen 'em on High Mountain.

Did I mention the cactus is also called "the Devil's Tongue"?  And there's even a snack bar (right) that features it?

Clearly, this plant has it all.

More on these cacti, or cactuses, here. (Not sure why it's categorized as a harmful plant, except to the "bare feet" mentioned in the link. Anybody know?)

Since early May, I have had a motion-sensitive trail cam next to Stiles Thomas bird drip.

I have deleted thousands of images and kept a few, including a little surprise or two.

We can I.D. most of them. How about you?  I'll post at least two a week so as no prolong the agony.

(I would have gotten a high-def trail cam but they cost three times as much.)