Undesirable Creatures

Recently ran into some less-desirable creatures.  While moving the chickens' water dispenser there was a black widow spider in the gap between the stones that the dispenser was resting upon.  The red hourglass can be clearly seen.  I am not sure what bothers me the most about these spiders.  The fact that it is the most venomous spider in the US or the fact that the female eats the male after mating (hence the name black widow).  I feel better thinking this one was a virgin.

Just before bedtime last night I was out checking on the chickens and found the culprit that had been digging the small deep holes in the fields.  Clearly this thing had not escaped from a petting zoo nor was someone's lost pet.

The armadillo is one of those creatures that one has a really hard time trying to see the beauty in.  In fact, it is down right ugly.  It doesn't help that armadillos carry the bacterium that causes leprosy.  About 1/3 of the few hundred cases of leprosy a year in the US have been found to come from contact with armadillos.  Oh, and they may also carry rabies - nice!

There is plenty of land for it to forage on so no plans to have it/them removed unless they start coming near the house.