I’ve been meaning to post this photo for a while now, because it gives me some hope for the world.  If Ophy and Pippa, two cats who tolerate but don’t love each other, can curl up and relax side by side on a small footstool, perhaps there’s hope for the rest of us.  Although this is the one and only time that I’ve ever seen Oph and Pip get so friendly with each other…  (Click on image to enlarge.)

Last Christmas Jean gave us the coolest thing ever:  a squirrel feeder.  Ophy and Pippa and I had tons of fun watching the squirrels hang upside down and gnaw on the concentrated corn cobs.  Jim didn’t love the feeder as much as we did, mainly because all kinds of petrified corn scum accumulated on the deck underneath the feeder.

At any rate, one morning I snapped some great photos of my favorite squirrel (the one with the poofy ear tufts) feasting on the corn, with the intention that I’d post the photo here for Jean’s amusement.  And then I forgot to post the photo.  Better late than never, though, so here it is (click on image to enlarge):

When Jim and I bought our house, Dad and I dug up all kinds of plants from the family homestead (which at that point had been promised to a developer, but had not yet been sold): lilacs, peonies, creeping myrtle, pachysandra, roses, forsythia, daylilies, crocus, and iris. Jim’s and my house came with a small, but completely blank, yard.  The people who owned it before us had gotten rid of all the poison ivy (thank goodness), but hadn’t added any plantings. 

The plants from the house I grew up in, most of which originally came from my two grandmothers, settled in nicely in our yard.  Five years later, the lilacs are getting tall, the rose bush is bursting out with new growth, and the iris are having their best year ever.  These iris didn’t come from a grandmother like the other plants – they came with the house when Mom and Dad bought it.  At that house, they lived out by the street, and suffered a lot from salt and sand; at our house they have a place of honor far away from the street, and they are incredibly happy.

So here’s a photo of the iris in full bloom, mostly for the benefit of Jean, Dan, and Dad (click on image to enlarge):

Obviously, from the lack of entries this week, I’ve been a bit busy at work.  (That’s the understatement of the year…)  In fact, I’ve been so busy at work that I don’t want to write about anything to do with books or librarianship or storytimes or anything else today; the girl needs a break.

So I thought I’d share with you the two wild animals who have visited our neighborhood in the last week:

Last weekend, for a period of three days, a momma snapping turtle moved in, living part of the time under the hedge that divides our property from our neighbor’s, and the other part of the time digging an enormous hole in our neighbor’s lawn. Adrienne and her three little kids were fascinated – took tons of photos, kept the snapper from wandering into the street, and anxiously watched to see if any eggs were laid.  Last time I talked to Adrienne, no eggs had been laid (for which I’m grateful!), but there’s always the chance.  And now momma snapper appears to have moved on, for which I’m also grateful.

And then on Thursday night, Jim and I were walking back from the local convenience store (cashed in our scratch ticket that won a whole TWO DOLLARS – and, of course, bought two more lottery tickets with our winnings; desperate times call for desperate measures), and we saw an animal start to dart across the street just down from us, its profile highlighted in the headlights of an oncoming car.

“Oh, no!” I cried, “It’s a cat!”

“No, it’s not a cat,” said Jim, “it’s a…” 

“It’s a skunk!  It’s a skunk!” I cried.

“That’s no skunk,” said Jim, the voice of reason, “That’s a fox.”

And it was – a beautiful fox that ducked back into our other neighbor’s yard, its tail unmistakeable in the headlights.

The thing that’s odd about these two animals is that we live in a neighborhood that is very clearly marked “Thickly Settled” on the sign just before our house.  The houses are tight together, and there isn’t much open space.  And our neigbor’s yard is a bit of a walk from the nearest marshy area; a long commute for a slow and steady turtle.  I can only imagine that the fox might be feasting on garbage left outside, or an outdoor cat or two.  I can’t imagine that the fox much likes it here.  And I’m guessing the dinosaur-esque snapper turtle didn’t think much one way or another as she wandered into our neighbor’s yard. 

It seems like just yesterday that I saw my first coyote in our backyard.  This was back when I worked at Massachusetts Audubon, and the naturalists were very skeptical that I had actually seen a coyote; I had to describe it in great detail before they’d believe me.  At that time, twenty-one years ago, I lived with my parents in an almost rural area that backed up to a large tract of wooded conservation land.  And now, in 2009, I’ve seen a fox in my thickly settled neighborhood.  I feel sorry for the wild animals that are trying to make do as their open land gets gobbled up by new houses and the exploding human population.  Where will we all be twenty years from now?