Adventures with nature

We live in the mountains, next to a sand plant and nature is abundant.  Sometimes nature is unexpected, such as the day I returned home and wondered when we moved to the zoo.  Or the time when Creative Guy and I were heading out to the car and the biggest coyote I have ever seen came out of the bushes about 10 feet away from where we were.  I honestly thought for a minute it was a wolf.  Long time blog followers may remember the rodent invasion of May 2011 at Shangri-La O.

Sometimes nature is welcomed, sometimes not so much.

Cute birds on the bird feeder, welcome.

Squirrel on the bird feeder, not welcome.

Ants roaming around the yard, welcome.

Ants in the kitchen and bathrooms, not welcome.

Bats flying through the sky at night, welcome.

Bats stuck between the window and screen....um, yeah, not welcome.(The question we want to ask but are afraid to ask is how did it get there?)

Termites indoors, never welcome.

Scorpions indoors, never welcome.

Snakes in the garage, as long as they slither out without causing harm, tolerable.
Whatever ran out of the garage when I got home last night, again, as long as they run away without causing harm, tolerable.

Deer lounging under the cedar trees, welcome.

Rabbits hopping by, welcome.

The neighbors dog that is allowed to wander at will, really irritating.
The Siamese cat that scampers away the minute it sees a human being, well, I hope it's catching the rodents and snakes...and blue jays (the screechy, annoying ones).

Raccoons knocking over the garbage cans, decidedly not welcome.
Whatever animal keeps walking across the front porch in the wee hours in the morning, that is heavy enough to cause the porch to creak and moan and that wanders around the front year snorting like a pig, REALLY not welcome.

We may be investing in an animal cam or night cam or, as I will call it, "what the heck kind of animal keeps waking me up in the middle of the night" cam.  Then again, maybe I don't want to know...I might never leave the house at night again.