Scenes from a Burrow Building

Our resident mother chipmunk looks like she's getting ready for a second litter soon. From what we can tell, she's eating about the same amount, but looking a little rounder, and more significantly, she's getting her little paws dirty and undertaking a big renovation on her burrow. She has filled in the previous main entrance … Continue reading Scenes from a Burrow Building →

Desire Paths

And so, the grass over here is often longer (and greener!) than it might be elsewhere in the neighborhood. And recently, I’ve noticed that this has a new practical consequence: in a lawn a bit in need of mowing, the garden wildlife’s desire paths become easier to spot.

Graduating Squirrels

It's graduation season, and over the past few days, we've had four young squirrels graduate from their drey to our garden. Their mother (a beautiful, chunky, slightly beleaguered-looking female-- as many a good mother is) has been a regular at our feeders for a while and, last week, she introduced her children to our yard. … Continue reading Graduating Squirrels →

People-Watching Animals

Recently, I've started collecting photos of backyard animals watching me watch them. I don't mean our eyes meet across the yard as I'm photographing them going about their foraging/nesting/mating/romping activities; I mean I'm catching them chilling somewhere (usually on a branch or on the fence) expressly checking me out. I spend a fair amount of … Continue reading People-Watching Animals →

A Little Death

Today I held one of the chipmunks while it took its last breath, cradled in my hands, my fingertip against its slowing heartbeat. Having so much life in the garden means there's also at least a little death. Sometimes that looks like a shattered eggshell, or a mess of feathers, or a ransacked burrow...and sometimes … Continue reading A Little Death →

The Bird at the End of the Racket

A few days ago, there was what can only be described as a terrific racket coming from somewhere in the back garden. I'm not great at identifying bird calls, but this didn't even sound like a call, and honestly, I wasn't even sure it was coming from a bird. It was an awkward sound- not … Continue reading The Bird at the End of the Racket →

Mulching & Other Manual Labors

It's true that a garden is never finished, but, sometime in May, there's a short moment when it can look deceptively in order. Of course, this moment lasts less than a day or two and may be just a hallucination induced by the exhaustive labor of mulching. I'm speaking from experience. Last week, my husband, … Continue reading Mulching & Other Manual Labors →

Annual Sheep & Fiber Fest Field Trip

Sometimes I like to put on my green gardening boots (with cartoon goats on them) and go out into the country for the day (especially if it involves actual farm animals). And so, last weekend, my husband, daughters, and I went to one of our state’s Sheep & Fiber Festivals. It was a beautiful day— … Continue reading Annual Sheep & Fiber Fest Field Trip →

In which one of the new chipmunks chooses a new home…

Now introduced to the world, weaned, and savvy(ish) about some good feeding and hiding spots, the new chipmunks have been choosing their new homes this week. Some may have ventured out of the garden, but it looks like a couple have chosen to make their burrows within its borders. The easiest of them to spot … Continue reading In which one of the new chipmunks chooses a new home… →