Tag Archives: Henry Van Dyke

I thought I would share a few of my garden neighbors with you.

*Clicking on a photo will give you a closer look!

There is the common and beneficial garter snake.

“Well, then, let it go, let it go, if you’re so bull-headed about it. We can get you
some garter-snakes, and you can tie some buttons on their tails, and let on
they’re rattlesnakes, and I reckon that ‘ll have to do.” Tom to Jim in The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

This is a discovery that my Hubby made when he noticed grass sticking out of the old abandoned barbeque and opened the lid to investigate.

Turns out Mrs. Squirrel has a rather comfy home here.  We could not determine if there were babies by looking through the front door, and this nest is deep.  So we left well enough alone and closed the lid of the barbeque.

On another day, Hubby decided to take a second look.  Turns out that Mrs. Squirrel turns into a hell cat when the lid is lifted while she is at home.  Hubby is a good ducker, and we will leave the family in peace.

I wish I could get Mrs. Squirrel to pose for you, but she is in perpetual motion when I see her out and about, and I don’t seem to have the time to stalk her for a photo.

It’s easy to smile when you have a squirrel’s intellect. -Dylan Moran

Mr. and Mrs. Flycatcher moved to the neighborhood back in 2013.  I have shared their family in several posts, which can be found under the Home and Garden Galleries 2013 tab ,  2015 tab , and the 2016 tab at the top of this blog.

One year, the resident bully hawks (Cooper Hawks, I think) destroyed the family, so Hubby built a bird house for them to reside in.  It seems that Mr. and Mrs. Flycatcher prefer to nest in the open (perhaps they are claustrophobic).  The barn swallows, however, love to reside in the bird house, and the two seem to make good neighbors.

Both residences are right there by the porch light…next to the front door to my residence.

“Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” -Henry Van Dyke

I do not know where the residence of the Hawks is, but I do know that it is nearby.  They have left the flycatchers unmolested since the birdhouse was put there.  Hopefully, it shields them.

That seems to be the way of life…the bigger and more powerful preying on the small but courageous.

Stay healthy!  Stay safe!