Favoritos de gray-jay

in the absence of a trunk or stone to lean on, a capybara may be an option;
I have observed these two individuals do this twice;

see also
https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/nelson_wisnik/21258-the-friendly-capybara

Aside from the eye-catching coloration ("Don't eat me! I feast upon the poisoned weed!"), a fun and weird feature of these milkweed beetles is that their antennae bisect their eyes, thus the "four-eyes" specific epithet. You can see all four eyes here.
There were several of these beetles enjoying some common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in the butterfly garden area of the Lakeside Commons Educational Gardens.

Shrubby St. John's Wort is one of many interesting native plants found in the North Wetlands at NKU's Research & Education Field Station (REFS). As is typical of Hypericum (and distinctive among Kentucky plants), the leaves are stippled with pale, pellucid dots which hold secreted oils that make the leaves unpalatable to herbivores and of medicinal interest to humans. The revolute (rolled under) edges of the young leaves are also unusual, as are the three-parted fruits (since five-parted would be more typical with the five-petaled flowers).

Most of February was weirdly warm here, and the salamanders have activated almost a month early. This gorgeous, glossy individual -- about 4.5" long and as fat as one of my fingers -- was in the sheltered, muddy spot under my trash bin. I'm not sure that I've seen this species in my yard before. I took a few quick photos and then returned it to a slightly safer spot in the yard.

Snug as a bug in a rug (...or a frog in a log?) Every summer I find different treefrogs snoozing in the ding on this persimmon trunk, but this young frog is still small enough to tuck itself under an upturned chunk of bark. Trees make bark much like they make wood, and the layers in the bark (like annual rings) are clearly visible next to the little froggie.