We recently attended a wild bird workshop that discussed creating and certifying a property such as our yard as a wildlife habitat through the National Wildlife Federation. The intention of the wildlife habitat certification program is to encourage people to make adjustments to their yards to benefit not only wild birds but also many other creatures, such as frogs, toads, bees, and butterflies. The program also results in increased species biodiversity and the support of native plants. We've seen all kinds of wildlife on our property, but some are not visible during the full spring-to-fall growing season, and when they are present, they are not in great numbers. So, we're looking forward to adding a few elements to our property to attract and keep more wildlife around. I'm especially interested in how we can make our yard, fields, and garden more attractive to frogs, toads, and gardener snakes. As you may recall, we had a mama gardener snake and her babies hanging around o...
About a month ago, we were contacted by someone with PAIR (Pawsitive Animal Impact Rescue) about two kittens that needed fostering. We quickly said "YES!" and the kitties came to stay with us. Meet Crumble (the orange kitty) and Cookie (the black and white kitty). The kitties stayed in the Corral, a big TV/game room in our house with its name etched into the interior door window (the original owners did that back in the 1950s). The photo above is taken from outside the house, and as you can see, the kitties loved to sit in the Corral's big front windows. Crumble is a very lovable kitty who seeks affection, and so he was quickly ready to go on to a forever home. Even though we knew he'd find a great home, we were still sad to let go of him. Cookie, meanwhile, is timid. His ears go down if you go near him, and he runs away if you get too close or if he's startled. So, shy little Cookie is still with us. Meanwhile, we now have another kitty joining Cookie in the Corr...