Since we bought our house about five years ago, we have left some of the backyard to do as it wishes. It was my little concession to nature, something to remind me that, in the grand scheme of things, I am really not in control. We joke about cultivating chaos, but in a sense that is what we have done. Without our little sanctuary I don’t think we would have seen some of the wildlife that has taken up residence, however temporary, in our yard.

I have tried over the years to photograph whatever I can, sometimes I’m lucky, most of the time I am not. We see wildlife constantly around our house. One night we came home to six deer standing in our driveway; there used to be a snake that sunned himself every afternoon on our back steps; not to mention the various birds, raccoons, cats, rabbits, and turtles that have come to visit. It took two years before I finally got a photo of the groundhog that lives under our garden shed, yet today I snapped a few pics of our newest visitor almost without effort.

We are very much tread-lightly kind of people, I won’t bother you if you don’t bother me. I figure, if an animal feels secure enough to doze in our yard, we must be doing something right.

*For those that are not aware, we live in the middle of town, houses on all sides.