Garden Critters

Sometimes I wonder if other gardeners think I am looney when I tell them about the 'resident' critters that live out in the garden.  No doubt we have all encountered the slugs and rabbits that munch away at our greens, the moles that make hills everywhere (but aerate the soil), the voles that eat up our root crops and those deer that have been really enjoying all the green tops of my pole beans. 

I am not speaking so much about those critters but the ones we want to see in the garden.  Hummingbirds and other avian friends; we have a resident heron, who last year ate up a 3-4 foot garden snake in front of my very eyes, a gorgeous pheasant that looks like he belongs in a National Geographic documentary, and the super elusive, sable colored weasel that I have seen only once.

Now that the season is almost over, I really have relished in the fact that my children got a real chance to experience what its like to share a space with real wild critters, I have to remind them that wild bunnies do not want to be petted.  The wonder and bewilderment that comes to their little faces when they realize something wild is near them is truly a sight to behold.  Even though we aren't growing much this fall or winter, the garden is still a source of great amazement.

-Gia