It must be tough being a mom and trying to keep your young ones dry when it rains seemingly every day.

That’s what this robin is struggling with, as she tries to shelter her brood from the weather. The photos come courtesy of my colleague Tracey Princiotta, who lives in Somers and has the nest close to her front door.

The other photo below is more along the lines of “It’s summer and the living is easy.” This one comes from my colleague, Frank Becerra, a TJN/Lohud photographer, and shows a family of red foxes enjoying a warm day earlier this month in Southeast. Being a red fox apparently isn’t all that easy, either, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Bold italics are my addition.

The life of a red fox is hazardous from birth. Litters of nearly naked, blind and deaf newborn pups are left in dens while vixens (a.k.a. mom) search for food. The pups are vulnerable to any mammal or reptile that can crawl about in the burrow.

Long-tailed weasels, ermine, skunks, mink, gray foxes, snakes, or woodchucks are the most likely threats.

As the pups emerge from dens at about four weeks of age (in April) they become the prey of hawks by day, or owls by night. They also are vulnerable to crows, coyotes, gray foxes, bobcats, house cats, and dogs. If the den is close to a road, pups often are killed by car and truck traffic. When pups find exposed mice in newly cut hayfields in June, they are drawn into the open and again become vulnerable to owls and hawks.

Here’s an AP story about red foxes showing up in downtown Detroit.

Ever wonder where the phrase “dog days of summer” comes from? It’s got nothing to do with your pet but rather the dog star, Sirius. Here’s more about the dog days.

The buzzing sound you hear on most sultry days are cicadas.

Previously on TNOT: You say si-key-duh, I say si-kah-duh

There have been a few crazy wildlife stories out of New Jersey this week. In case you missed them, we have

1. An angry turkey

2. Threatening woodhuck maced, bear raids freezer

This century’s longest solar eclipse was visible over parts of Asia today. You can check out a video here. Worth a look since a longer eclipse will not take place until 2132. Here’s more on the event.

Found a bat in the house yesterday. I didn’t spend too much time trying to identify it, but I’m pretty sure it was a little brown bat. The only family member interested in the winged creature was the cat.

I appreciate bats and the role they play in the natural world gobbling up insects. But I always find it a bit disconcerting to find one in the house. It’s the third time in the past several years.

Here are some handy, dandy tips on dealing with a bat in your home.

Of course, bats have their own problems to worry about, namely white-nose syndrome. You can add wind turbines to their list.

During all the wet weather recently, at one point I wondered what butterflies do in the rain. I figured a few raindrops can’t be good for their thin wings. Turns out, according to this NYT’s Q&A, that rain isn’t a good thing for the flying creatures.

Raindrops are as threatening to the light-bodied butterfly as the bucket of water propped over the door in a silent comedy film would be to a human being.

The photo shows what I think is a silver-spotted skipper butterfly on a purple coneflower in my front yard.

It’s just fun to say. Go ahead. Say it . . . Bees at Beczak. That’s what next Sunday will bring at the environmental education center in Yonkers.

Local beekeeper Charles Branch will share first person adventures with honeybees at Beczak Environmental Education Center on Sunday, July 26 at 11 AM. During the program, called Honeybee Hives, children will peer into an observation hive, find the queen, and taste honey right from the comb. Reservations are required: Call Dorene at 914 377-1900×13 or email dsukup@beczak.org.

Branch runs Let it Bee, a local honey company (with apologies to Paul, of course). From the Beczak Environmental Education Center’s announcement:

A fine carpenter who specializes in historic preservation, Charles Branch entertained a quiet fascination with honeybees for years. In 2004 he enrolled in a beekeeping course at BYBA, the Backyard Beekeeping Association. The result, Let It Bee honey, is available at Whole Foods, New York City’s Murray’s Cheese, Irvington’s market, Geordanes, the Hastings Farmers Market, and more.

Photo supplied by Beczak and shows one of Branch’s hives.