Over the past weeks, we’ve had a raccoon hid her babies in our yard, snakes take up residence in a bush outside our front door and two birds nest under a different bush. A raccoon even stopped by in our open garage while I was quietly doing something one evening. (That event caused me to let out a “startled scream” that sent mama running!)
All this in a suburban neighborhood, close enough to urban life that we can see downtown Cleveland from our backyard.
I truly wondered “what gives!” until my husband pointed out that we have the most natural place in the neighborhood… no chemicals, no fertilizers or pesticides, no unfriendly environments… and I think he’s right.
When my neighbor saw the snakes, she suggested we pay for an exterminator or snake wrangler to get them out of here. (Seriously? I should pay someone to evict these poor little harmless creatures?! But she is the same person {although she is a nice lady} that chopped down all of her backyard trees last year.) Then there is the other neighbor (also a “tree chopper“) that called out his OWN tree service to look at removing a tree in OUR yard because he didn’t like the leaves it was dropping in his driveway! He offered to pay half, which we politely declined.
Maybe animals really do have a sense of “someplace safe”… yea, MomGoesGreen’s yard, of course! And our kids are loving the animal park in their own yard (but yes, I do understand the dangers of raccoons, so they have been educated on safety.)
If you believe in karma, I think you’ll agree that my husband is right. There IS a natural attraction because we do let off all whole lot of “good nature karma!”
Ah, the trials of neighbors. It is funny to see how people’s thoughts differ on what is good. I would say cutting down trees is sad.
Green – absolutely cutting down trees is awful. I don’t like messing with Mother Nature!
Hi Doreen
Sounds a lot like my back garden! Embrace the wildlife!
Great article, thanks for sharing.
Geoff
Geoff Clarke´s last blog post ..Canadian Animals in my Garden