I’ve been surprised over the last few weeks at the number of critters I’ve encountered during my daily walks with Milly, the liver and white springer spaniel who lives at my house.
The reason I’m surprised is that I live in a metropolitan area of a 150,000 people, not in the country. Yes, my back deck is less than 50 yards from Lake Lanier, but a little more than 100 yards in the other direction is one of the biggest highways in town.
I’ve written many times about the squirrels and geese that inhabit the area around my house. Milly, of course, believes they are here simply to torture here, and she’s making it her life missions to get rid of them.
I’ve hung a bird feeder on my deck, and I enjoying watching birds come to feed. A beautiful cardinal is a regular visitor. There is also a blue jay and a red-headed woodpecker. (I don’t know if that’s the official name of the bird. I just know it’s a woodpecker and his head is red.)
But there have been so many more animals. In the last month, I’ve seen a family of deer. I’ve seen a half dozen racoons (and there’s evidence they’ve been on my deck). Possums. Foxes. And just last night, I discovered that there’s a groundhog living in the woods near the lake. He (or she. I don’t know how to tell the difference without some indelicate snooping) spent a couple of hours in my backyard before sauntering back into the woods.
Suddenly, I feel like Marlin Perkins from the old “Wild Kingdom” show. (For young people who might be reading, google it.)
I like having all these animals around. As you all surely know by now, I’m from a rural area of Southwest Georgia, and the house I grew up in is on a small lake. I’m used to wildlife. I spent a lot of time as a little boy catching frogs, tadpoles and turtles to keep as pets. At least for a few days, before you took them back down to the lake and set them free. I used to love catching lightning bugs and putting them in an old mayonnaise jar. We would occasionally see deer in the woods, where we built forts.
Of course, not all the wildlife was fun. From time to time, an alligator made its way into the lake. Fortunately, it usually kept its distance from humans, although we suspected a couple of dogs hadn’t been so lucky.
And then there are snakes. I don’t like ‘em. One time, I was pushing our jon boat into the lake and came across a water moccasin underneath it. I don’t think I stopped running until I was in the house with all the doors and windows locked.
People tell me I shouldn’t be afraid of snakes. “Mitch,” they said, “most snakes are harmless.” Or my personal favorite: “Mitch, you can tell if the snake is venomous by the shape of its head.”
Yeah, right. If I come across a snake in the wild, I ain’t sticking around for a formal introduction. And I dang sure ain’t saying, “Excuse me, Mr. Snake, could you slither closer so I can get a better look at the shape of your head.”
We haven’t encountered any snakes on our walks. I’m sure they’re there. I just hope they’ll keep to themselves to I can enjoy all the other critters.
