A young Fox once ate so many of our fallen and fermenting cherries that he staggered around and around the base that tree in a drunken stupor!
Box Turtles wander through our yard regularly and they are always welcome. Once my daughter found a box turtle's egg and kept it warm until it hatched into a quarter-sized miracle.
A shy Possum gathers leftover birdseed from the ground beneath my feeder every night. We love watching her.
My yard and garden are abuzz all spring and summer with Honeybees gathering nectar. I love to have them visit my garden.
I've only met a snail in his shell a few times. I'd like to know them better. Ladybugs, however, are everywhere. They love crawling on the Little Guys I've just made. I assume their fascination is the moisture in my clay.
Frogs are one of my favorites animals. Their anatomy is so comical and their springtime music enchants me. I once spent a whole evening crouched next to a marshy pond recording bullfrog songs to play at my craft show booth. I got some good ones!
In general I think of rabbits as sweet animals and love to watch them feeding in the early morning and evening. One young Bunny proved not so sweet when he found his way into my fenced garden and row-by-row nibbled all my kale and carrots off at the ground. After a week of frustration, I found him hidden in a clump of grass in the corner, sitting absolutely still with his ears held straight up as if they were just another pair of leftover winter weeds. I gently escorted him into the pasture. In his honor, I've created a Bunny proudly holding a huge carrot that didn't come from my garden..
In addition, I've created a quiet Bunny with a shy smile..
My niece raises Hamsters. Their fat little faces are so cute—and busy, busy, busy! My Cheesy Mouse is busy, too, nibbling away at his oversized cheese..
My studio has a huge window that faces my back yard and pasture. This is where I've chosen to place my workbench. My window on the world regularly includes hawks, turkeys, foxes, raccoons, cottontails, bluebirds, deer, skunks, possums, box turtles and other delightful critters just going about their lives.
