Backyard Bandits

For a garden that is far less than half an acre, we sure do attract a lot of wildlife.  Squirrels and chipmunks have set up apartments in the tree trunks.  We have blue jays, cardinals, juncos and chickadees who empty our bird feeders daily.  There are a few pigeons, and a duo of wood doves who had a pair of beautiful babies this last spring.  We have skunks who wander by, and bunnies who hop in for a munch every evening.  They all love the watering hole, the feeders and the fresh food we leave out for their dining pleasure.

By far our biggest residents are the two raccoons who have built their home in our pergola, well camouflaged by a flourishing wisteria.  These nocturnal animals swish down like firemen on poles in the evening, and waddle off to try their luck dining at our local restaurant.  Unlike the chipmunk who shoots up the vertical iron pole on which the feeding station hangs and successfully gobbles up seed, these lumbering creatures are destined to fail.  Pretty persistent though - they try acrobatics from the tree branches, only for gravity to kick in and head them tumbling to the ground.  Then they try climbing the 2 cm diameter pole, hanging on with fingernails locked - to no avail - they just can't make it to the feeder.  In the end, defeated and still hungry they climb the fence to, hopefully, greener pastures.  They must do ok, because they return to their perch to forage another day.   

Let's hope they don't become pesky pests.