The past week ushered in the first hints of fall with cooler nights (down to 42°F), ripening fruit, shorter days and golden evenings. It also rained, which is a gift from the heavens as it has been a very dry and hot summer. Everyone, including the trees and wildlife, are feeling the nourishment of this gentle, bountiful time of year.

Ben and I are seeing more wildlife lately, especially the big bucks with their fuzzy antlers. These four-legged ‘boys’ nonchalantly cruise through our yard in small groups, sampling the foliage. They are bold, curious and un-afraid. They would go right into the house if we let them. This is one of the highlights of living here in the Rocky Mountains, that we see wildlife almost daily. This ongoing fauna parade provides great entertainment that never grows old. Though at times there are challenges, such as when some hungry herbivore eats a valued plant, most of the time we all get along fine. I have been known to burst out of the house yelling and waving my arms, only to have the munching deer look at me with cool unconcern, as if to say ‘whatever ails that poor human?’ My best mountain lion roar does not impress them either. The deer know this land intimately and any garden buffets are to be taken full advantage of. Secretly, I enjoy their bravado even as I bemoan the destruction they wreck on the un-fenced areas of our garden.

There are many beautiful animals that live on this land with us. A short list includes: black bears, foxes, deer, coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, skunks, marmot, turkeys, hawks, squirrels, magpies, chipmunks, snakes and of course the mountain lions. Ben and I still have not seen the elusive lions that roam the land, but many of our neighbors have exciting lion stories, so we know they are around. Our closest encounter is finding big paw prints around the house and a deer kill on our driveway several years ago. (The Dept. of Wildlife took the big carcass away in the name of neighborhood safety). At night, the darkness is occasionally pierced with howls, screeches and the sounds of wild animals going about their business. This wildlife presence cannot be ignored and is a constant reminder that this really is their land too. They hunt, breed, live and die right here among our houses, sheds and gardens.

Over the years we have witnessed many of the wildlife’s seasonal habits and tricks for life in this tough environment. Hummingbirds delicately harvesting insects from spiders’ webs; deer testing weakened fences with military precision; skunks burrowing into freshly dug beds for earthy treats; the magpie ‘mafia’ terrorizing smaller animals too close to their nests; raccoons sampling our ripening fruit; pack rats harvesting greens for their huge nests; foxes hunting rodents hiding in the lavender bushes; a snake gliding through Echinacea blossoms in search of rodents; rabbits feasting in our clover; bears ripping entire branches off trees to get the fruit; flocks of turkeys roosting high in pine trees; bats skimming the pond to drink, a gorgeous bobcat sunning himself in winter… truly, it is as entertaining as any animal documentary. Yet I am aware that life is a fragile balance for many of these animals. We may help them in some ways by providing food via our gardens, but in other bigger ways we humans greatly hinder them as our civilization encroaches ever more on their natural territories. So it is with awareness, respect and appreciation that we do our best to share this land equitably with our wild neighbors.

Click here to see a slideshow of larger pics above and more wildlife!