Our weekday home in the city has good fortune.
Our main floor unit faces South and is protected by a reasonably attractive fence. But what is most delightful – the variant species of animals that take in this environment as their own. They sense the protective and attractive foliage here. The bamboo, the red maple, the rhododendron in purple-flowered glory, the creeping vines and small shrubs……and especially all of the flowering annuals like the bright red-coat geraniums and the perennial grasses that my dear wife plants in the fresh loam laid down by a professional gardener. This sunny venue brings a full range of creatures, on foot or on wing into our lives.
The small song birds come daily to sample the seeds in the feeder and to drink a little from the fountain, making sure to take a good bath in the cool fresh water. They flit back and forth from the trees, always alert to possible danger but enjoying this little oasis. Big birds, especially crows also drop by for a drink from the fountain on warm days. They, like their smaller winged cousins at times will linger on the top of the wooden fence, probably thinking “I need to remember this place, I will be back!”. One grey-brown squirrel hangs out here as well, also drinking occasionally. And, a beast often thought of as an awful urban pest, the racoon, stealthily enters the yard at night and even in the day. Interestingly, a great big one was preening on our big mat on the stone patio this morning, and when I chased it away, within 15 minutes he returned, this time very specifically to have a drink from the bottom of the fountain. He did so while starring me right in the face! He clearly was thirsty beyond any half-hearted fear he might hold. But his drinking was just a start…..the next night, I heard a smash on the patio, and there was the racoon beside a tipped and broken owl, a wise planter now done.
Despite his mischief, the racoon cannot ruin the small pleasure……wildlife on the doorstep!