LANDSCAPING vs Housing

Landscaping has been a big adventure for me. Though we left a good portion of the land as natural as we found it there was a small area in the front for me to play around with. I learned some major lessons. It took several years for me to realize that fighting nature was not only a waste of energy but more importantly a transgression of devine law. Even now I have to remind myself when visiting the farmer's market each spring, that some plants just are not going to do well in this area. If there is any advice I can give from my experience it is to embrace the natural surroundings and respect indigenous plants. Work with what is already present as these plants are your guide to what will thrive. I can't tell you how many years I would pull "weeds" until, to my delight, found they presented the most wonderful flowers and color once I finally allowed them to mature.

Since we are in the middle of the woods there is no lawn. This in itself is a wonderful gift. Instead of having to waste time and energy on mowing, weeding, fertalizing etc., not to mention all the toxins associated with keeping a lawn, we enjoy a wonderful carpet of leaves and natural ground cover. All this also prevents accidently disturbing natural habitats for skinks, frogs, turtles and other insect eating animals.

Dying trees offer such wonderful opportunities for housing as some animals will borrow and utilize them for nesting or perching. Even fallen trees will offer housing for wildlife. After hugo we had quite a few trees uprooted and as cleanup continued and time passed I noticed evidence of wildlife making homes where tree roots once were. Any such evidence kept us from cleaning up that particular area as wildlife left homeless after such a devistating storm began to resettle.

FOOD AND WATER SOURCES

Nectar from Fruit and Butterfly bushes are wonderful sources of food for birds, butterflies, and squirrels. Bird seeds are also essential for supplementing diets. Be sure to take care that all feeders and water sources are kept clean to promote good health for those using them.

When planning our vegetable garden each year we always make allowances for the wild rabbits, sqirrels and opposum, to make sure everyone has enough to eat. Even Mika our dog will eat from it. We do not use any toxic chemicals in our vegetable garden. I will not even use them on my flowers, which has prevented any success with roses.

The next concern was a water source for all these animals. This gave me a good excuse to by a fountain. It runs year round, which Mika prefers over her own dish in the house, even the goats drink from it. Since we live in the south the fountain rarely freezes. We also are lucky to have some natural artesian wells in the back of the property. They are small but they allow water for the rabbits. I also provide water for other animals that find it hard to reach the fountain by placing the saucer part of a birdbath on a low stump in the middle of what I call my toad and lizard garden, where I have placed lots of hostas that provide shelter for these natural insect eaters. I have even placed broken clay pots upside down, decorated to make a cute little "toad road". Some people view squirrels as a nuiasance but they are a constant source of amusement, especially in the spring when the little ones come out. Quite a few of them, the ones we have raised, will come and eat from our hands. Since they can be very hard on bird feeders, easily knocking them to the ground I have placed a saucer from a large clay pot and fill it with bird seed next to the suacer of water on "toad road" where they can eat to their hearts content without destroying it. The birds don't have a problem with eating off the grond either using cover from nearby brush and trees as defense to prevent feeling vulnerable out in the open.

For a recent birthday my husband installed a beautiful garden pond and everyone enjoys congregating around it, especially in the summer, humans as well as birds, frogs, squirrels, racoons and other animals and reptiles.

FENCING

We initially fenced in about an acre so Mika would not wander up near the road. We decided on a farm fence. Farm fences are made of wire fashioned into large 6 inch squares at the bottom and each row the squares decrease in size so that near the top they are about 2 inches. This would allow rabbits and opposum to still come in and eat from our garden. Over the years this fencing has been very effective in protecting our other furbabies which currently include a small spinner's herd of 3 angora doe goats and 3 laying hens.

CARING FOR THE INJURED AND ORPHANED

People in this area have become aware of our compassion for animals and will bring us orphaned and injured animals which we raise and release on our land, especially baby squirrels. To provide these and the other animals in this area a safe environment we have kept them in mind in everything we do.