We are lucky to have many garden friends! Our yard is surrounded by forest and we have plenty of wildlife visitors. Because some of them visit us so frequently, they feel like friends. And yes, a number of them have names. Let’s meet a few of them in this article!
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Jerry The Groundhog
Our Furry Garden Friend
Jerry is a groundhog who strolled through our yard one day and decided to make a home for himself here. His home popped up seemingly overnight. And he chose the perfect spot – his front doorway is just inches away from my garden! He cleared rocks and branches to create a ginormous tunnel leading down into the ground.
Jerry worked tirelessly to ensure that his front doorstep was clean and that the yard was inspected daily. He was often home while I was working in the garden. As I sweated profusely, he would hunker down in his cool, dark home, watching me calmly.
He seemed good-natured and patient with our frequent photo sessions. Watching him run down the hill was like watching a big furry caterpillar loping over some mushrooms.
Jerry also appears to have created a backdoor at the bottom of the hill where we place our brush and leaf piles.
We’ve only spotted him a few times this spring so I hope that all is well with our little furry friend.
Big Bird and the Ladybirds
Three Season Garden Friends
Big Bird (creatively named due to his size and his first appearance during my Sesame Street stage) is one of several ring-necked pheasants who grace our yard. He struts around carefully, constantly checking to see who is watching. In the mornings, I often wake to the sound of a loud squawk, followed by a lovely feather-rumpling sound. I think it’s his “Look at me!” call, as he performs this accompanied by amusing tail displays whenever the ladies are around.
Encounters with Big Bird are quite memorable. There was one time when Big Bird and I were both walking along adjacent sides of the stable. When we met at the corner, there was a loud screech and flapping (coming from both a human and a bird). He soared overhead, displaying his glorious stream of tail feathers. Of course, I did not have the camera with me at that time.
When we set up a bird feeding station in the corner of the yard, Big Bird and his family quickly rushed over there. The ladybirds were content to pick at the seeds on the ground, but Big Bird found a way to “climb” up the trellis and stretch out his neck, knocking seeds onto the ground. Eventually, he learned how to make the feeder swing back and forth, spilling seeds with each cycle.
Mama Bear and Cubs
Our Scary Garden Friends
There have been lots of bear sightings in our neighbourhood, so we weren’t surprised at the occasional pile of bear poop. Then one day, I looked up from my schoolwork, and a bear was strolling up the path! At first, I thought that it was one of our neighbour’s big dogs, but no, it was a bear! Naturally, I screeched, ran for the camera, and alerted my family (multitasking at its finest). Soon everyone was piled at the window, cameras in hand. The bear meandered calmly, oblivious to the attention – that is, until the dogs next door began barking. It ran off, cutting across our front lawn and down the road.
Later that summer, we saw an adorable teenage bear. We were eating dessert, and then one of us spotted a dark shape by the compost bin. Almost everyone ran to the window to observe, but I stayed behind for a couple of minutes. I couldn’t let my ice cream melt.
Just look at those ears!
Deer Me
Graceful Garden Friends
I know a family member and several gardeners for whom deer are big nuisances in the garden. However, they’re not yet a big problem here, thankfully. We have had a few deer sightings over the years. One morning, this group appeared right in front of the dining room window!
Sam The Snake
The Garden Friend that Always Surprises
We have several resident snakes in the garden. Supposedly they are a sign of a healthy garden environment, but they don’t seem to do much at the moment in terms of slug control. One snake spends most of his time in the garlic bed. “Sam” stays buried in the straw most of the time. At other times, we can find him dozing on one of the logs that make up the garden border. We think that he chose the garlic bed because the “rabbit-proof cage” on top of the garden protects him from air predators.
Sam certainly can stir up excitement whenever he makes his presence known. For example, one evening, Mom carried a set of empty watering cans from their storage location to the garden boxes before she discovered that Sam was curled up inside the handle of one of the cans. It did not go over well.
I came out with my camera to document the event. Sam eventually slid (reluctantly) out of the can and made his way back home. I followed him discreetly and was fascinated at how he instinctively knew where to go. The next morning, he was back inside the garlic bed. And now we always keep our watering cans filled with water.
WARNING! SCARY IMAGE of Sam below… for the naturally terrified… scroll by quickly or click here to jump to the next section.
Bunnies
Energetic Garden Friends
I love bunnies. They’re cute, they’re quiet, and they thoughtfully eat up dandelions for us. When the windows are open and someone is playing the piano, a bunny will occasionally choose a spot near the window so it can enjoy a concert while having dinner. Every spring, a new batch of bunnies appears from their den. They run, leap, and chase each other so exuberantly, that we can almost hear them shouting, “Hurray! It’s spring! We’re free!”
The Cute Rodent
Persistent Garden Friends
One of my siblings has this thing against squirrels, but I think that they’re really fun creatures to have in the garden. Every day, they’re up to some crazy new antic, and in the wintertime, they found creative ways to hog off the feeders. In the end, it was a win-win situation because they knocked down seeds for the little birds.
Chipmunks, on the other hand, are less frequently seen, but we know that they’re here, too. One day, when Mom and I were taking a walk, we accidentally scared a chipmunk. It tried to run away, but the nearest thing was our blue slide leftover from our playset. The little chipmunk scrambled up the slide, toenails clicking furiously as it desperately tried to escape. However, it kept sliding down! I laughed and laughed. It finally hopped off and scurried under a tree. In retrospect, I was quite heartless.
Birtie
Always a Welcome Garden Friend
An article about my garden friends would not be complete without mentioning Birtie the blue jay. He and his extended family and friends visit often. Birtie is smart, sassy and very athletic in his attempts to obtain peanuts. He and his family quickly found ways to coax peanuts out of the humans living in the big blue house. Admittedly, we fall for them easily.
Garden Friends
These are just a few of the special garden friends I look forward to seeing throughout the various seasons in the garden! I hope that reading this article brought you a bright moment in your day. What are some of your favourite garden friends? Do you have names for them as well? Please let me know in the comments below! – I appreciate a good chuckle!
Thanks for adding the jump link over the scary critter. I don’t think I could scroll past it fast enough. ????
You’re welcome, Linda. Those critters are pretty scary.