<p>Spring is here and along with it "Little Bunny foo Foo " has returned to my yard. In addition this morning while walking the dogs, I heard this really strange guttural hacking sound near the ditch, got my attention! It was a little Blue Heron fishing for breakfast! </p>
<p>Its about to get interesting here in the country.</p>
<p>Our little bunny foo foo was living under the front porch this winter. I flicked on the light early one morning to get the newspaper, and just then a hawk whomped down right on lbff on the sidewalk in front of the door. Ewww… no rabbit tracks around the front of the house since then. But I am sure we will have more, as there was an abundance of rabbits (and mice!) last summer.</p>
<p>When I hear a guttural cough, it is usually a pheasant. Our neighborhood is on the site of an old pheasant farm for hunting, and few of them are still around.</p>
<p>I am just soooo happy that it is spring.</p>
<p>We have so many rabbits here year round, we’ve come to call our immediate neighborhood Rabbit Hill. Last winter the darn things chewed my red twig dogwoods down to the ground, so we fenced them out this year. They are right by the entrance to our house, which is on the market, and the fencing is not attractive. I’m trying to figure out when there will be enough other rabbit food for me to safely take down the fence.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I have a pair of mallards that seem to be settling in near my pond. This has happened before (they even laid eggs), but now I have a fair investment in the koi. They would choke on the biggest fish, but I’m still worried about the smaller ones. We also have a hawk that lives in the neighborhood. Thanksgiving day we were sitting by our big windows when I saw a big shadow, looked up, and the hawk snagged a bird that was on one of my feeders, enjoying his T’giving dinner. I assume the hawk enjoyed his.</p>
<p>And then there are the chipmunks . . . and we live in town. (A few years back we actually had a bear in the neighborhood!)</p>
<p>We have coyotes that howl at night. And my dogs howl back. It can get pretty noisy . . . </p>
<p>And then there are the spring peepers that live in the wetlands behind the house. Sometimes it gets so noisy I think there’s a helicopter about to land in our yard.</p>
<p>And last night the incredibly deep bass bull frog was serenading us…</p>
<p>As the snow melted, we found myriad mole highways, unusual for us.</p>
<p>I spied one stumbling around near the road.</p>
<p>We’ve had turkeys and deer traipsing through the yard recently as well.</p>
<p>Coyotes’ howling is pure music to my ears. I have not seen a single bunny in my garden since last fall. 
The wetlands at the end of our street are frog heaven. This time of the year, if the temperatures are above freezing, we hear the frog choir at night.</p>
<p>I have my eyes out for the resident hedgehogs across the street…</p>
<p>I’m just waiting for any critter that eats stink bugs to inhabit our environs. (I’m willing to pay.)</p>
<p>“I have my eyes out for the resident hedgehogs across the street…” never seen one, that would be cool! First time I saw a woodcock come out of a field, I nearly put the car in a ditch. It was the strangest bird I had ever seen!</p>
<p>So what is a stink bug? And do they really stink?</p>
<p>They do stink if you squish them. UGH</p>
<p>I would love to hear a coyote at night. It must be amazing.</p>
<p>Bald Eagle in the backyard this morning, made my day!</p>