Wildlife Weekend

 I had a couple of up-close wildlife encounters this weekend that I wasn't expecting, so I thought I'd share a few pictures.  I don't typically see deer in my yard, even though I live surrounded by woods.   I did see one last year, but just one time.  I'm pretty lucky on that score, because otherwise they'd decimate my garden.  Well, today was an exception.  Today...at first, there was a lookout.

She gave the signal....and the rest appeared.

I believe it was a mother and her young.

All three of her young!  They sampled the hostas.

A lovely family really.  But I don't want them to make a habit of visiting.

The littlest one.

They look fairly healthy so that made me happy.  Just please...stay away from my veggie garden!

A visitor that I don't really mind in my veggie garden was this little friend I found in the greenhouse today while I was picking tomatoes.  She was pretty shy.

She was playing hide-and-seek for a while.

When she finally showed herself, I realized she was a lovely two-toned little mouse.  I'd never seen one quite like this before, so I was excited to look up the species.

This is Zapus hudsonius, the meadow jumping mouse.  I can tell you that she definitely lives up to her name.  She took amazing leaps when I got too close to her, which is how I first noticed her.  Boing!!  Boing!!

For scale, here she is next to a cherry tomato.  Awww.  She was absolutely adorable.  I don't mind sharing some tomatoes with her.  I read that they eat seeds, fruits, and some insects.  She will hibernate soon.  Perhaps she thinks my greenhouse is a good place to hibernate.  She is most welcome to stay there.  I gave her a piece of pumpkin and some chicken scratch grains as well.  

The greenhouse would be a good place to stay over the winter - warmer than other locations, with lots of seeds in the soil, and protected from predators because of its door.  Stay cozy, little one!