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?