I love when nature reminds me that I’m sharing the neighborhood with more than the expected assortment of humans, dogs, cats, squirrels, chipmunks, and birds. These moments fill me with joy.
Take the photo above. I was on my usual before-work walk through the neighborhood one day last spring when I heard a strange noise. It sounded sort of like a baby crying. I looked up to see a fawn being chased by a fox across a neighbor’s front yard. When the fawn and fox saw me, they both froze and eyed me warily. I loudly shooed the fox away (although he didn’t immediately go, bold fellow that he was). That left the fawn standing in the middle of the street, seemingly not knowing what to do next. The fawn eventually scampered into another neighbor’s yard, leaving me behind with an enormous smile on my face. Our neighborhood is small enough that I knew mama and baby would be reunited soon.
We don’t live in a rural area, but there are woods and forests close enough that we see a certain amount of wildlife. Deer are fairly common. Foxes are less common, but have become a more frequent sight in the last year or two. We’ve seen wild turkeys in our backyard, and one time Sam and I were walking in the little park down the street and happened upon a single wild turkey walking alone (which is unusual since they seem to always travel in groups). This week my husband Chris looked out at our back yard and said, “What’s that?” It was a coyote.
One evening last year Sam and I were going to our favorite sunset-watching spot (the same spot shown in yesterday’s photos). We had misjudged the timing and arrived after the sun had slid below the horizon and all the other sunset watchers had left. It was on the edge of dusk and dark, and as we arrived at the overlook we saw an enormous owl perched right on the edge of the stone ledges. I’m sure it sensed our presence and took flight over the valley as we watched in awe.
One summer night a year or so ago, I was sitting on the bench in our back yard and some movement caught my eye. It was an old opossum with a crooked tail slowly ambling across the yard. I think his name was Bert. I invited him over for a drink, but it was past his bedtime (yes, I know opossums are nocturnal, but work with me here, I’m being whimsical).
Have a wonderful weekend! I will see you back here on Monday.
Thank you Michelle for such evocative words!
How unneighborly of Bert to decline a drink.
I know, right? 🙂
How amazing! The little fawn…..the owl…..the fox. Love, joy, love and more joy! They are like little gifts from the Universe…..gentle reminders of something much bigger at work.
I’m right there with you, Michelle. Nature and animals make me so very happy.
Several years ago, in the span of a few weeks, I saw owls everywhere I went. Prior to this time, I had never seen one in person. It was a bit surreal. Awe-inspiring. One sat perched in my yard-20 feet from our family room window. It stayed there for weeks. I think it was a Great Grey Owl. Another flew down from my neighbors roof as I turned the corner. It had apparently been eyeing a little bunny on the grass. After a hike in Blue Hills, we saw a snowy white owl in a larger enclosure. He looked like he was wearing fluffy while ski pants. On another day, walking down a path along a giant field in a nature reserve near my house, an owl flew all the way across the field, directly at me and then turned away about 15 feet before it reached me. This one was giant- his/her wings must have spanned 10 feet. I remember thinking- what in the world is going on. Owls are everywhere…. For the next few weeks I would walk at this nature reserve and I could hear the owl moving through the woods with his distinct calling sound. And then, just as fast as they came, the owls were gone. I haven’t seen one since- but I do hear owls on occasion at night in the woods behind my house.
Nature. Animals. Birds. Bugs. Trees. The night sky. Sunsets. Flowers. The wind. Rain. Thunder and lightening. The ocean. Love, joy, love and more joy!!!
I love your owl experience! The first thing I thought of was Harry Potter, haha.
All creatures great and small, love them all!
<3