Life in Suburbia - Sharing With Others

I find myself at a loss of topics today. I am not a mother, so didn't celebrate Mother's Day, and I purposely stayed at home. The weather was perfect, the lilacs were in bloom, and the only work I needed to do all day was carry a full load of deadwood and brush to the compost collection point. It was a day of "nothing happened" and that's really OK sometimes. But for a blog post, it's a total bore. So I think I'll talk about my local animals because they've been really evident, lately.

We're not one of the best suburbs in America. In fact, not a single
Minnesota suburb made their list. But that's OK. I like where I live. 

I live in what's called a "first tier suburb", i.e. the closest suburb to the main city in the ring of suburbs that encircle the metro areas. I'm close to just about everything, but not within the vertical rise and the metropolitan intensity that the actual city features. Our lots are larger, there's more green space, and less mass transit options, but there are still a lot of people, individual homes and apartment buildings, and shopping centers. It's still urban, not the country.

The fox startled me a bit, he's new to the neighborhood and
so beautiful. The sun was hitting him just right and the grass
was so green. It was a stunning looking animal. 

Within the past week, within a half mile of my home, I have seen three animals that I don't usually associate with urban living whose homes are in my immediate area, and I think that's really fun. The fox is a newcomer for me. I saw him a couple of weeks ago along the road I take to the gym. At that time it was dark and I saw his eyes and the shape of his body as he moved away from the road. The next time I saw him. about a week later, it was early morning and he was a splash of golden red against a green hillside about 1/4 mile from my home. So beautiful!

The wild turkeys seem to be stationed on land owned by the college
across the street from me. I see them strutting in the glades and even
across our front yards. They're quire big and rather intimidating. 

We also have a large flock of wild turkeys who have been roaming our neighborhood lately. I think they have taken up residence at the college across the street from me. Sometimes I see the flock together, but more often I see the toms roaming solo. They're astonishingly large birds.

Deer are more common in the more open spaces, but they love
early spring growth and can wander the backyards in our area
searching for tasty morsels of new plants. 

Finally, we have deer. Of course, we've always had deer in this area - in fact, they've been in my front yard before. I have to be very conscious of them as I drive to and from the gym in the early morning hours. Hitting a deer would be a total downer to start my day.

Muskrats are water critters, but we live next to a small feeder
creek, so we get them in the yard occasionally. They're larger
than I thought; the last time I came across one in my yard, it
startled me. Normally they stay in and near the water, though.. 

I wonder what other wild critters live near me. In the past I've seen muskrats and there are always a variety of birds - owls, crows, ducks, geese and my lovely egrets and herons. Do you have wildlife sharing your home? I hope you do - it makes things just a bit more special to see a fox gamboling on the greensward. Happy Monday to all!