My husband came in after dark one night and asked me if I realized that there was a baby possum sitting on the back steps. No, I actually hadn't realized that. If he had said, "Did you know that there are raccoons all over the deck, including a mother raccoon and four babies, turning over your flower pots, eating your pond goldfish and generally creating havoc?", this I did know.

Years ago, when we bought our home, I registered my home as a wildlife habitat. You had to show that you were providing, or would provide, food and water for birds and animals that might come to your property. You sent in $5.00 and got a little cerificate, along with some information about habitat. At first, I thought mostly in terms of birds.  I had bird feeders, and a bird bath. We had some nice sized trees for nests, some shrubbery and even a bit of wild area.

One day, I noticed that the squirrels were drinking from the bird baths, and also noted chipmunks and rabbits in the yard. Knowing that the little animals could not reach the birdbaths, I added a couple of low baths (bird bath tops without the stands) and a large clay dish that was designed for use under a flower pot, sunk a little into the ground. I wasn't sure how this would work, but rising early one morning, I found a rabbit drinking from the new low basins, and have seen rabbits there many times since. We are in the sometimes very hot South, and the hotter the day, the more wildlife I will spot at the water.

I did a lot of reading about plants that are attractive to wildlfe. We planted fruit and nut trees and have always had a backyard vegetable garden. A certain amout of what we grow I expect to share with the birds and animals who share our space. Sometimes, the wildlife has less of a sense of fairness than I might wish for. Four flawless hot house level peaches went to the squirrels. Some of my best tomatoes get pecked for their moisture. This year, I have a rabbit who enjoys my sunflowers, and for awhile she has eaten or broken one per day.

We live in a regular neighborhood in a large city where I would not have anticipated seeing some of the creatures we regularly see. One night, I was sitting on my deck with a last cup of coffee, listening to the night sounds, when a large raccoon strolled up on the deck. (If you are new to wildlife, any raccoon will seem very large). I stayed still and watched as she strolled over to a bowl of catfood I had left out for a pitiful stray cat that I could never catch, and she ate all that was there. Our neighborhood has lost much habitat due to growth and development, and this loss of habitat will bring wildlife in closer and closer. I now know that this raccoon was pregnant. That first year, she reappeared with two babies. The next year, I saw three. This year, she has brought four. We have a healthy respect for each other, each keeping our space, but she often comes up on the deck when I am reading or just sitting and I think she enjoys the companionship as much as I enjoy seeing her and knowing that there is still a place for her. 

In time, we added a backyard pond/watergarden as an additional water source for the animals and birds, and the results have been interesting. I wanted goldfish, but they proved a popular wildlife food treat, dearly loved by raccoons and herons. This year, after the last of the goldfish were eaten,  I gave up and let the pond go natural. In the past, we have never had frogs or toads. I sometimes pick up turtles that I find about to be hit in the road, moving them to our pond area, but for some reason, we never got frogs or toads. Now that we have no goldfish, we have a pond full of tadpoles. While they lack some of the charm of goldfish, I think they are more true to nature and expect the frogs will be fun, especially in the quantity I see coming.

They say that if you make a place for wildlife, it will come. In my first efforts at having a habitiat, I was sometimes frustrated. My birdfeeders, clean and well-stocked, stayed empty while my neighbor, who had fed for years, had feeders swamped with birds. I did not see a squirrel for ages. The first several times I put out suet for the birds, it went uneaten. Now, I am a victim of my own success. The birds, especially the cardinals and house sparrows, come to my windows if I am late feeding. The squirrels are a story onto themselves, but suffice it to say I have never found a squirrel proof birdfeeder. Their agility and resourcefulness are a credit to them. You must smile as one squirrel shimmies up a thin metal pole, opens the feeder and sits inside to eat, or simply hurls the seeds to his accomplices waiting on the ground.

I have never regreted the decision to draw wildlife to my yard. I have seen life, and death, laughed and cried. To me, though this decision has had results both happy and sad, it still feels like the right thing to do. In twenty years, there have been many memorable moments, and if you decide to create a habitat, I am sure you will have successes of your own. On my list of moments of joy brought by the wildlife in my yard, I would include: The day that a pair of hawks fledged two babies in our front yard, as cars slowed to watch these lovely birds starting their life journey; the day four small raccoons tumbled onto our deck, turning every item on the deck into a toy and reminding me just how good just being alive can feel when you are young and new; the first hummingbird I saw so close I could touch it; the heron spreading four foot wings by the pond; the baby rabbits, chipmunks and possums who have chosen our yard as a place of beginnings. Perhaps less dramatically, there is the satisfaction of seeing creatures that are becoming more rare, like blue jays and bumble bees, as regular visitors to our property, where we have avoided chemicals and pesticides and planted plants they like.

Consider drawing wildlife to your property. Start with a birdfeeder and a birdbath. Respect the animals that come, and keep safe. The rest will come in time.