Visitors

Skunks, raccoons, birds - even foxes!

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When I was a child, I spent hours poring over a book that suggested stimulating projects that would teach you about wildlife. One project I remember showed you how to spray-paint a spider web and then “lift” it onto a sheet of cardboard to preserve the orb pattern. But I was particularly taken with the one that demonstrated how to photograph nighttime critters. It involved a camera with a lever-style shutter release and a flash, plus a trip wire connected to a portion of food. I think the photograph used to illustrate the project showed a skunk tugging on a carrot.

I never started any of those projects, but they were certainly fun to dream about. (My little Kodak Instamatic had a push button that wouldn’t work with a trip wire, and anyway, I don’t think my parents would have favored the prospect of my luring skunks into the yard.) I’ve always been fascinated by wildlife, especially if they are actually in the wild and not in a zoo. There’s nothing quite like catching a glimpse of an elk while on a hike through the deep woods. Such a moment can leave you breathless.

I’m not much of a wildlife photographer. I’m not a patient person like some birders, who will spend literally hours waiting for their subject to appear (or not.) I don’t like to hike with my Olympus DSLR, and I rarely can pluck the smartphone out of my pocket in time—and then there’s the struggle to zoom and center the image. Usually, I end up just capturing a lot of background with the animal long gone.

Even so, I get my fill of photographs of wildlife. Because my partner and I have outdoor cats and travel, we’ve set up cameras to monitor the cat feeding area (an enclosed porch) so we can tell our caretaker when the food and water bowls need to be refreshed. The cameras have caught some interesting things over the years: skunks, raccoons, Abert’s squirrels and piñon jays, as well as a family of foxes. The cats didn’t seem to care about the skunks or foxes; in fact, one of the kittens played with the dangling tail of a fox while it continued to enjoy the kibble. I haven’t caught a mountain lion on camera yet, but they’re definitely around—I see their tracks at the edge of our property.

I saw my first Abert’s squirrel at Grand Canyon; this is the first time I’ve seen one here in western New Mexico in my 8 years. This one always shows up at lunchtime, just when the cats come. Sometimes they tussle.

He (or she) and a friend come to visit most nights.

I haven’t seen the foxes in a few years, but this past week, one has returned.