This One Is About the Story by Peebles Pair
I was moved by this beautiful story from Rae Lawson & I hope that you are too ☺️
Along the edge of our yard and garden stands a modest four-foot fence that serves more as a visual boundary than a practical one. Over the years it had weathered and deteriorated, and Mark decided it was finally time to replace it. My first thought, however, was not about the fence itself, but about all the wildlife that had come to rely on its imperfections.
The gaps and broken sections had become unofficial passageways for our regular visitors. Deer, woodchucks, wild turkeys, rabbits, and other neighborhood critters seemed to know exactly where to enter and exit, providing no end of entertainment for me. Wanting to keep both the fence and its fans happy, Mark thoughtfully incorporated a few small openings into the new design so the smaller animals could continue their travels. Then he added a bit of whimsy with the gate. He even lowered the height a bit so young fawns wouldn’t have to struggle over it, especially if they were startled and making a quick retreat back to the woods.
Then yesterday, my long-desired Nikon Z lens finally arrived, replacing the older F-mount lens I had been using with an adapter. Naturally, I headed outside to test it on anything and everything that caught my eye. Looking way down the garden toward the fence, I spotted for the first time, Mrs. Woodchuck making her way toward the little door. It seemed the perfect opportunity to see what the new 400mm lens could do and how she would feel about the gate.
This photograph will not be winning any awards, but that was never really the point. What it does capture is a story I love: Mark’s patience, kindness, and willingness to indulge my affection for the creatures that share our corner of the world.
A patience made all the more remarkable by the fact that Mrs. Woodchuck recently thanked him for his hospitality by devouring an entire flat of freshly planted parsley from a window box on the deck. 😊
See Rae’s latest on Flickr and view & purchase her work at Peebles Pair Photography.
Yes, that story moved me too and gave me a smile. For many years I fed the squirrels at the park and also here at my house. Last week I had Xfinity in to swap modems as mine was about five years old and dropping the signal a lot. I expected the visit to last about 10 minutes, but it stretched to almost two hours as he had to rewire everything because the squirrels chewed the covering off the wires and moisture got in. He said I was only getting 25% of my internet. I have a fast speed from when I worked remotely, so I thought it was just the modem. The same “darlings” have chewed by AT&T utility wires three times, cutting off the landline. The AT&T tech said squirrels give him job security.
😅 sounds like your squirrels might have gotten a Netflix account
Yes, I think so too … they figured I was indulgent with peanuts, so why not take advantage of me? (Right now I have a huge tree limb from the neighbor behind’s very dead tree embedded between two large firebushes in my backyard, impaled through them, stuck in the mulch and the branches from the limb are in the utility wires. I’m waiting on a tree guy to remove the limb as DTE says it’s not their wires. Waiting on him two days now. I was lucky since the EF-0 tornado was just a block away and decimated the park.)
Thank you so much for featuring my little story. We have been feed critters of years and never had a “wire” problem. Perhaps because we are out in the rural countryside, but we’ll be alert to the problem
Thank YOU Rae! I just love the story. So wonderful to see people treating animals as friends & neighbors 😍
Also, I can guarantee you this pic will return as a Groundhog Day pic in the future. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend!
I forgot how close you live to the track – glad you were spared!!