Backyard ponderings

I love the outdoors. Not so much in the last few days because of the extreme heat and humidity, but in general I love being outside.

I could (and have) spend hours puttering around in the garden, pulling weeds and moving rocks by the pond. It's just a quiet, peaceful way to spend time.

I would love to have one of those properties with rolling hills, a wooded area with a walking path, and a stream. One of those hidden garden areas with lush vines and dense foliage would be a dream. I'd love to look out and see deer, fox and other critters. What we do have is a 180 ft by 200 ft lot, with sparse grass, 3 trees, (the tallest is 10 ft), and the only hill is the funky front grade, and the huge septic bed bump.

I acknowledge how lucky we are to own land and to have a great house. I'm sure many city people would love to have a blank slate in a 'county' atmosphere. Open fields behind, and no 'immediate' neighbors.

Landscaping is a slow and expensive process. The grass has been a huge issue. Last year was so dry, and this year has been better, but we have a lot of area to cover. We did a little bit of deorative landscaping beside the back patio and near the pond, but that's about it for this summer.

So anyway, back to wildlife. The first sign of Spring were the robins sitting on the 10 foot high property marker posts. For weeks there were always at least one robin perched there. We've had a few cardinals, the occasional bunny, a skunk, (I have never encouraged Halia to get in the house faster than that time!), 2 pheasants, (Halia didn't know what to make of them), the neighbors' cat, (a calico, always facinates Halia), my mom's cat, (Rat - with no tail), and of course the dogs.

After a huge rain in the Spring, the low area in our yard, which used to be our garden, was totally flooded. Off and on for about a week were two mallard ducks, having a great time in the water. That was pretty cool. If you ever have seen the first episode of the Sopranos, I felt like Tony...

Last year, (our first summer) it would totally freak Billy and I out to step outside and almost smush a toad, (they are the size of my fist!). They always sit right in front of the back patio door Billy would tell people that they were trying to get in. We came to the conclusion that they were attracted to the light for the food factor. This theory makes more sense then the toads wanting to become roomies....

Yesterday in the extreme heat, there were about 100 boring black birds, all around our tiny, itty bitty pond and bird bath. They were bossing the sparrows around. (The pond usually hosts 4-5 sparrows.) It was a really strange sight.

Today, and the inspiration for today's post, there are hundreds of seaguls in the field right behind our house. They won't step foot into our yard, it's like we have an invisible seagul fence. What are they doing here? Where did they come from? How long are they here for? I'll keep you updated....