Bugs

The bugs haven't been as bad as we would of thought.

Spiders - Never seen so many different types.
Mosquitoes - They haven't been bad. Don't think there is many sources of water around for them.
Gnats - Can be bad in the morning on occasions but otherwise not that noticeable.
Ants - We had a problem with ants in the apartment side of the house. We think they got in during the construction. (9/06)
Caterpillars - Lots of caterpillars in the spring.
Other - Can't leave the front porch light on too long because then it becomes difficult to enter the house without bringing some flying bugs in.

Turkeys

The turkeys have been spotted all over the mountain. Our neighbors feed them so we see them passing through the yard all the time.

Birds

Lots of birds around. Plenty of humming birds, woodpeckers and others. The most interesting is the Whippoorwill. It's name is named after its song. It sounds like a video game sound effect. The bird sings at dusk and very early in the morning. It woke us up at 4:30am one time. It's not a sound that you can ignore.

Snakes

The right side of the house is a shale bank with downed trees providing a ton of holes for all sort of creatures.

In the spring we have seen Black Snakes passing through the front yard or just sunning themselves near the side yard.

One decided to make a home in Robyn's van grill. Robyn saw him go into the grill but Sean couldn't find him when he looked later. The next day Robyn saw him come out.

Our exterminator (Bob) relocated one snake early in the spring and a neighbor shot another. These were not small snakes. All being at least five foot long.

Sean left the garage open while working on the retaining wall. Erinn went into the garage and came out to ask her dad if there was a snake in the garage. As he got to the garage the snake slithered over to a corner. He curled up (the snake) and looked as if he decided he wasn't going to move. Luckily Bob was nearby when we called him. While we waited for the him, Sean stayed near the snake so that he wouldn't move further into the garage. Using his tongs, Bob and Sean were able to get the five foot snake into a garage can.

Luckily we haven't spotted any snakes since the garage incident.

Deer

They are everywhere. During the spring we saw them a lot in back yard. Have spotted them lately around our plants in the front.
Have to be careful when driving up as they can be found along the roadway.

Bear

We have heard reports of a mother bear and two cubs in the area. Something left their mark one night. We woke up to find our garbage scattered around the garage and tuffs of hair on the driveway. The bear also wanted the nectar in some bird feeders so they bent the metals poles to get at it.
(click to enlarge)

On another occassion we heard garbage cans moving one late night (10/06). Sean went out to look and after walking down to the driveway he saw a black bear taking the bags out of the cans. He scrambled back into the house rather quickly. It depends on who tells the story as to how quickly.