It's now February and my New Year's resolutions are whittled down to 2 remaining, one of which is accomplished with this post (to blog more often). My plans for a Pima County big year attempt were wishful thinking, and I'm glad I put it aside. It would get in the way of time with Kino, yard work, and our daughter's upcoming wedding next month. Instead I am putting more focus on activities closer to home, such as getting the back yard ready for her shower at our house. Since the wedding shower is next week I have no time to lose!
I suppose it's time to review my goals for the back and front yard, which are not traditional at any rate. Some people want their yard nice and neat, with crushed rock and a few plants evenly spaced apart, with maybe a few trees, etc. They get their blower on the weekend to blow the rocks off as if they were vacuuming their house. Their exterminator ensures no bugs disturb their peace with poisons throughout the property, and weeds are dispatched in similar fashion. In short, their yard is almost an extension of their living room. sanitary, safe, mostly devoid of life, and, in my opinion, extremely boring.
I hope I live to see the time when yards will be judged not by neatness, but by the wildlife it attracts by the creativeness of the tenant. When we build a house we displace a LOT of wildlife, from bugs to reptiles and amphibians, to birds and mammals. I feel an obligation to repay that debt by making our living area a refuge for wildlife, a place where they can feel safe and at home, with plenty to eat and drink, and places to sleep and nest. A place where no one is excluded based on size, looks, species profile or even poisonous characteristics. I feel every species is important in some way, even if I haven't yet discovered its benefits. Their are no varmints, pests, game, or nuisances, just neighbors who happen to be a different species.
I use a personal philosophy of the 2 step method-take any species and go 1-2 steps up the food chain. Perhaps you can't see the harm in spraying ants, but what of the horned toads who rely on them almost exclusively for food. Would you want them to suffer as well. Would you harm a screech owl to keep scorpions out of your back yard? Or that pesky pack rat (I prefer White-throated Wood Rat). "He'll eat the wires in your car!" I hear all the time, although our residents have refrained from such activity. What of the Red-tailed Hawks which feed on these guys-are they banished as well? Today I watched one pull down stalk after stalk of a hesperilla plant in our front yard as I silently pleaded to save some for later. Well, when you plant for wildlife you can expect wildlife to take advantage of it. So where do you draw the line? I say "why do you feel the need to draw one?"
It's all a matter of perspective. Sometimes I think humans act more on instinct than the animals we lord ourselves over, based on, you guessed it, our higher intelligence. Sometimes certain viewpoints are so ingrained that we blindly follow like a mouse on a treadmill. In fact, it could be argued that some of our current ideas are not truly our own, but passed down from some parent, or grandparent, or best friend, etc. Perhaps if we stopped and really thought about it, we would see things from a new perspective, more truly our own.
Spiders were my pathway to my fresher perspective on wildlife. I was terrified of them. I remember my mother telling me stories of people going to the hospital from spider bites. She remarked how my best friend had been bitten and it got infected, and he had to go to the doctor. Wow! Then again she also warned that one of the garter snakes I was catching could be a poisonous adder, a snake which doesn't even live in the United States. To her credit I did mistakenly catch a copperhead later thinking it was a milk snake, only to be corrected by my cousin, a true snake expert, who could smell a snake within ten feet.
So, back to spiders- I was terrified of them. But somehow my inner voice came out and I realized that my fear was irrational, and that spiders shouldn't suffer because of my irrationality. I was still afraid, but fought the fear with common sense. When I moved to Arizona we even had a couple black widow spiders on our porch, which we left undisturbed. We found that they are very habitual, returning to the same place almost every night, not disturbing a soul. While I still haven't gotten to the point of handling them, my fear for this fellow creature has dissipated.
Snakes were another lesson. I had been taught to catch snakes in a contest-like fashion. Grab their tails, flip them into the open, then either grab the tail and flip into a bag, or press your foot gently behind the head and pick him up by the neck. One day ten years later I was walking a trail and carrying a six foot rat snake I had caught in like fashion, minus the bag. I cradled the whole body but had the neck secure to prevent biting. A stranger came up and asked to handle the snake. I obliged, and watched in amazement as he let the snake slide over his arms without worry, as he alternated arms in a circular motion. When he returned it I did the same, and realized more of a camaraderie with the friendly species. On another excursion I happened on a garter snake, a species for which I had acquired many bites. It was staying still so I slowly bent on one knee, brought my hand down, moved my finger under its chin, and gently stroked it's smooth scales. Perhaps this new perspective also helped me once when I unknowingly stepped directly over a coiled Western Diamonback, who didn't react. Was it my energy? Was he giving me the benefit of the doubt? Or perhaps it is a case where the species does not live up to its dastardly reputation.
So, back to the yard. My yard philosophy is to create a habitat much like the areas I walk. When I hike in natural, relatively undisturbed areas I am relaxed and at peace, and it seems every worry is carried off by the slight breeze. My spirits are lifted, and I can see how simple life can be always. There's something magical about nature when it is left untouched. I want my home area to remind me of the woods I walk, to bring that magic to my home, and encourage its wildlife.
Have I accomplished this? Not even close. But I'm working on it. I built free-standing stone walls for insects and the animals who feed on them. This helped bring in a Rock Wren within 2 years, a species I especially had in mind when building the wall. We also have a healthy lizard population, and an occasional snake. The walls also help with rainwater harvesting by keeping the water from flowing down toward the street. This year when the cottonwoods lost their leaves in our common area, I was able to grab about a dozen garbage bagfuls before the landscape crew arrived, and spread them out in the back yard, to encourage towhees and sparrows to our yard. It also looks so natural, and reminds me of leafy trails in the northeast, or extreme riparian areas in Arizona. I plant native grasses, plants, and trees, especially berry or high seed producers. Desert Survivor's nursery has been an invaluable resource for finding native bird and butterfly-friendly plants and trees(http://www.desertsurvivors.org/Nursery.html). Aside from the incredible plant selection I usually see and hear fifteen or so bird species while I'm there. We do have hummingbird plants as well, and our wolfberry's tiny purple flowers are getting a lot of visits from Ana's and Broad-billed hummingbirds this month. I hope to have a hummingbird feeder up tomorrow as well, and hopefully more to come. I do spread ground seed in winter for sparrows and towhees, and have suet cakes for warblers, thrashers, and wrens. I also collect seeds on my neighborhood wanderings for the yard, especially acacia's and Western Soapberry. I have a couple brush piles for cover, which really even the odds against accipiter predation. I use tree limbs, sometime hollowed out, for additional cover for small animals. The biggest challenge currently is our healthy Rock Squirrel population, which love to eat my most prized plants and are very adapted at changing the environment with their numerous holes. I was also saddened when I had to cut down most of a large mesquite this year due to my inexperienced planting, but I left some open limbs to accommodate a Red-tailed Hawk. Although I have not seen one yet I did hear a Great Horned Owl just outside my window a week ago, probably from the new perch.
Building backyard habitat in cooperation with nature has created timeless memories; our first Bell's Vireo getting ready to roost in your Arizona Ash, a Violet-crowned Hummingbird on the feeder, a bobcat passing through, and countless days when I'm glued to the window wondering what is going to show up next. I am so excited to see how the yard will look once the newly planted trees mature, or when the understory gets established. Every year is different but always full of surprises. I encourage anyone to take this journey for the benefit of your native wildlife, and for yourself. Thank you for your appreciation of the gift of nature.
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