Dr. Doolittle would be very comfortable here

 

The wildlife are a little too friendly for my liking this season. First, when we were putting the dock in at the lake, a little water snake slithered over to let us know that we were in her territory. The Farmer is in complete denial that we have a snake on the property. He is really not fond of them at all. We shooed her away and she left – but came back every time we splashed. We suspect she has a young brood nearby.

My daughter was standing on a sandbar, baby on her hip, when a big fat bass bumped into her leg. It swam away, but seconds later it was back to nudge her again. I tossed her the fishing net and she gently scooped the fish up so the kids could examine the shiny green scales. We gently returned the fish to the water and kept the dog away (he loves to fish) until she could escape. Later we realized she probably had a nest nearby as well. We could have been standing on it.

I was gone away for one night – less than 24 hours – when a family of ducks decided to move onto our deck. They left droppings everywhere. It took me the better part of an hour to scrape and hose down the wood. I could see the ducks watching me from the marsh, and making the occasional rude remark as I eradicated evidence of their late night partying. I'm on the lookout for a length of those flags you see waving at car lots. Apparently that is what is done on the lake, to keep the geese away.

I know that wolf spiders are harmless but they do give you a bit of a shock when you open your eyes in the morning and see one watching you from the wall beside your bed. At almost three inches across they aren’t tiny either. And it’s really quite alarming to see them move. They don’t spin webs to catch their prey – they run and pounce on them like wolves! I do hope that particular creature makes himself scarce when my eldest is around. She is a true arachnophobe and the ensuing drama would not be pretty.

The bats are back – outdoors, anyway. Maybe my bat house worked after all. I was lying in my little mosquito tent in bed and heard a “thunk” on the window, followed by a baby bat sliding down the glass.

Perhaps the most annoying and intrusive of our cottage guests this year is the little red squirrel who has been nesting in the wood paneling above the bed in the guest room. For several nights she did construction. She made quite a mess. We tried to plug the entrance she was using but really, in a treehouse cottage such as this, there are just too many doorways to block.

Our only hope to reclaim the cottage for ourselves is to make a lot of noise and hope the animals decide to vacate the premises.

 

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