It's "adventures with wildlife" around here. Last night, around 1 p.m. (yes, I was up - couldn't sleep), the motion light at the front of the house went on. I peeped out the window & saw something moving in the shadows so I opened the front door. Staring at me from the sidewalk was big fat raccoon. It was headed in the direction of the garden so I shooed it off .... it went grudgingly at first, but when I threatened to come off the porch, it changed direction & scuttled off quickly.
Friday, while harvesting peppers I noticed this caterpillar that has been parasitized by wasps (Braconid, I believe). The first one I saw like this, two years ago, I got rid of, but supposedly you should leave them since the hatching wasps are beneficial caterpillar hunters. This caterpillar moved slightly when I took the picture a few minutes ago so it's not totally dead, but it's no longer eating anything either. Nature is pretty amazing.
