The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:10
I’m all for living at one with nature. I need to be, since I reside in the country. Most of the time it’s a place of solitude.
We had a den of foxes this spring. Three pups and a mom with a white tipped tail. A few years ago, they made my backyard their home right next to the play area. To say the least I was not happy. The following year the same thing happened. Watching their antics was delightful, but concern over the grandkids won out. We blocked the den opening, sprayed pest control and prayed they wouldn’t return the next year. They didn’t, but found a new home down the driveway.
My property is the tick magnet for miles around. Forest coverage and two marshes encourage deer to hangout. I should put up a sign, “No Cruising”. Yes, twin fawns were cute a few years back, but the ticks are overwhelming. I even pick them up in March while snow blankets the ground. The hunter comes in fall and by spring we are invaded again by a new generation of deer.
So what’s my problem?
I really don’t want to walk down the driveway staring at a bold fox who has dropped off carrion in eighty degree weather twenty feet from where I’m standing. The smell is gross. Plus, it’s annoying when fox decides to jump out of the front yard proceeding to drive my dog nuts. Or should I need to carry a hiking stick on my way to the mail box as a young buck hisses and grunts at me for walking on my property? But I know it could get worse. Bear sights have been made a mile away. I wonder what size ticks they care.
Living in the country, five miles from town, one would never think a habitat could be shared with so many mammals. Got to go. There’s that groundhog munching in my garden! What’s in your backyard?
Patti Wolf 