The Bugs in the Backyard: Peep

I went out on the back porch a little while ago to see if it was still snowing (sigh... I know), and I heard something. I don't know exactly what it was, but I can narrow it down to something wonderful. It was one of those spring and summer nighttime sounds, a bug or a frog, something peeping out there in the darkness. It was lonely, whatever it was - there was no answering call. I, however, was thrilled to hear it. Particularly given that it was snowing earlier in the evening (but it didn't stick), the sound of spring in spite of the chill and the frozen precipitation was glorious to hear. Whatever it is that is calling out there, with a temperature barely over freezing, is one hardy critter.

Other signs of spring:

The crocus hasn't quite opened all the way.

It will be a while for these crocuses.

I don't know what this is, but it's green, and it's pretty, and I am happy to see it.

I think this is bed straw. A very young, small plant at the moment.

Backyard Bug of the Day:

I think this is a sawfly of some kind. It is on the board underneath which The Cricket lives, but I didn't happen to notice if this was there before I flipped it over, or if it landed there while I was looking at The Cricket.

At least, I think I was looking at The Cricket. This is what I saw when I flipped the board:

On the lower left of the picture you can see a cricket, of course. But I don't know for sure if it is THE cricket. On the right of the picture is a slight depression in the ground - that is where The Cricket spent the winter. Both yesterday and today when I looked under the board, The Cricket's spot was empty. So it may have moved on, or it may just be moving around more under the board. I hope it is not planning on staying there forever - the board is going away as soon as I feel like I am not causing the death by hypothermia of anything living under it.

I've been waffling about whether or not to post this next picture. I've been trying to get a shot at one of these for days, and failing, and I got one today, but I already have a Backyard Bug of the Day. If I post this today, and get a better picture tomorrow... You know what? Never mind. Here's a picture of a bug:

Beautiful antennae on this bug.

Some curious things today:

As the snow melts in some areas of the backyard I am seeing a cobwebby film on top of the grass. I have no idea what it is or how it got there.

Here's a bit more of the grass tunneling that is going on. Today I caught a glimpse of the critter that did this - I was looking out an upstairs window and saw it scurry across one of the backyard paths into this structure. My guess is either vole or shrew. I have looked up both animals, and it could be either, but probably vole. Interesting thing I found out about both animals, that fits with my finding of tunnels of torn up grass where the snow has just melted - both spend the winter in the airspace between the ground and the snow cover. As much as I would like to post a picture of this animal, which I caught a few glimpses of last summer, this is never going to happen. It appears and disappears too suddenly. I never even get a good look at the thing.

Backyard Bird of the Day:

Yellow shafted flicker. The yellow feathers are only visible when it flies as they are on the underside of the wings. There were a couple of these in the yard today, finding food (bugs, I think) in the grass, of which more and more is visible every day.