Armadillo Drama

This is what my side yard looks like... every single morning.

This winter we got this area of our yard sodded with zoysia. The previous owners had put wood chip mulch all over the area and had a playset. The mulch had really broken down and the area was covered in weeds. Zoysia does pretty well in part shade, so we thought we'd try it out. The lack of sun has been the least of our worries. Pretty soon after the temperatures started warming up we'd go out in the mornings to see our sod pulled up and turned over. An animal was flipping it over looking for worms and grubs. After a little research, I determined that it is an armadillo.

At first we started with a havahart trap placed strategically in the yard. That didn't work. Then, I found a co-worker who had a trap from thearmadillotrap.com. That one didn't work either. I kept telling Chip that "we" needed to build a funnel or chute to direct the animal into the trap. I fully meant that he should build it. I have no idea how to build an armadillo funnel.

Then, I got smart. I noticed some temporary fencing at a home construction site. One trip to Home Depot later, and we have the materials to build an armadillo chute.

I am hoping that this stuff will serve two purposes. 1) Keep the armadillo(s) out of my side yard long enough to let the grass put down some strong roots. Then I won't need to keep the pesky pest out. 2) Funnel the armadillo into the trap.

I'm sure my neighbors are going to love looking at this in my yard every time they drive by. I'm hoping the armadillo doesn't just dig under it. Here's hoping we have a rodent to relocate here soon!

Red Fox Family

One evening in mid-May I came home from work to find Chip in the back yard watching four baby foxes frolic and play games in our grass. It was seriously the cutest thing ever. They would run and jump on one another and roll around and around. I got some video of it, but I'm having trouble getting it off of my phone.

A few days later, this little guy established a new favorite lounging spot on the top of the hill in our side yard. He (or she?) would visit this spot frequently. I saw him here in the early morning, when I came home for lunch, and sometimes in the evening.

A few days later, we discovered that they had dug a hole in the hill for their home.You can see it in the photo below, in the bottom left corner.

A pair of fox babies.

And here is one of the foxes heading into the hole down on the left side of the photo.

A few weeks later and they were already growing up and growing more brave. One day I came home for lunch, and this little guy (gal?) was on our deck. He saw me through the door. At first he was curious, but when he came closer, I scared him off.

Once afternoon, Chip even spotted one of the in the street!

And I found one in the ditch digging around for frogs. She got one, too, and ran off with it in her mouth.

We haven't seen them around our yard in about a week. I've had two sightings in the neighborhood this week, but it is difficult to tell whether the foxes I spotted are "our" foxes. We've had lots of rain lately, so maybe it flooded their hole here, and they went to a different home. Or maybe their mama came and got them and took them back to their real home. I really don't know. I'm kinda worried about them, and I hope they are okay.

All in all it has been such a fun experience to have a little fox family to watch. One of my neighbors said that red foxes have been long time residents of the woods behind our houses. I love it!

Chipmunk

Right when we moved into this house, we found a little chipmunk drowned in the pool. So sad! He was such a cute, tiny little creature, and I felt so awful that he had fallen in and couldn't find his way out.
To continue the wildlife saga... yes, we have a chipmunk. Maybe even a family of chipmunks!
Apparently the chipmunk family made their way back to our yard. I was sitting in my office chair a few weeks ago when Walle started going nuts. I looked our the front window and saw this bad boy running across the front porch.

I've spotted this chipmunk (or maybe its relatives) numerous times over the past few weeks. Sometimes it is in the backyard, making its way across the back porch. Sometimes, it is on the front porch sniffing around for its next dinner. I do enjoy seeing these cute little creatures in my yard.

Oppossum

Yep. An opposum lives in our trees in suburbia. Wanna see?

The photos aren't great because it was fairly dark outside, and I was very cautious about getting too close to him because I didn't want to scare him away. Chip and I were sitting in the backyard on a cool April evening, enjoying a tasty beverage. We heard something scratching around on the fence, and we initially both assumed it was Meowmers, the neighbor's cat. But as I started to look closer, I realized this animal was much larger than Meowmers. I thought at first, "Holy crap, that is an oppossum!" But, to tell you the truth, I don't see so good, so I doubted myself.

The animal continued to walk the fence. When I saw him illuminated against the back neighbor's house, I knew it was an oppossum.

He walked right along the fence, right into the next neighbor's yard. He didn't mind us at all.

Carolina Wren

A pretty little Carolina Wren made its nest in the bird house hanging from a post on my back porch. For just a couple of weeks this spring I would go outside in the morning and evening to watch mamma bird feed her baby birds in the bird house. Anytime I got too close to the nest, mamma bird would let me know by giving her signature squawk.

Do you see her perching on the porch swing chain?

Then, all of a sudden, they were all gone.