Date:         Wed, 1 Jan 2003 12:43:02 -0700
Reply-To:     Bill N <freeholder@STARBAND.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bill N <freeholder@STARBAND.NET>
Subject:      Re: Who's Next?
Comments: To: John Rodgers <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I can appreciate what you are saying.  We have moved to a very remote area of SE Arizona just
to get away from the madness of the cities.  We still have lots of lizards and snakes -- a bit
dry for frogs and salamanders, though.  Yes to rabbits (jacks and cottontails), skunks,
raccoons, and squirrels.  No beavers, and I've never seen a possum, although they are found
here.  Yes to the preying matis, butterflies, pillbugs (actually a crustacean, like a lobster),
and a lot more insects.  We also get deer, javalina, coyotes, mountain lions, and even an
occasional bear.  There is a new hole in the back, and I don't know yet if it is a badger or a
coyote den.
Lots of horned lizards.  Now, there are no fireflies here, and never were.
Too bad, as I liked them a lot in Illinois growing up.  Thousands of birds.

We don't spray or anything like that, and we place brush piles every so often on our place to
provide hiding places.  We put up lots of nest boxes, and had three pairs of kestrels nest this
year.  A couple of owls, too.

Anyway, all hope for the grandchildren is not lost.  There are still a lot of places with
wildlife.  Take heart, and if you ever drive out I10, let me know and stop by.

Bill in SE Arizona

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Rodgers" <j_rodgers@CHARTER.NET>
>
> I lived in a place where everyone had manicured yards with all kinds of
> stuff to make it "pleasant", ie, w/o bugs, varmints, etc. - Foggers,
> lawn poisons, etc. The neighbors had a sterile environment.
> Me! I liked it wild. My grass grew tall, my bushes grew big, had all
> kinds of wild shrubs and berries growing, neighbors hated me. Called my
> place an eyesore. To me it was my patch of heaven. I had squirrels,
> rabbits, green anoles, bluetailed skinks, bluejays, woodpeckers, quail,
> you name it. Neighbors had nothing. The dividing line was not sharp, and
> my varmints occasionally would wind up in someone elses place, doing
> what varmints do, and that causes some problems, but at my place they
> had a home, given they had been chased out of everywhere else.