I love our backyard.
Our house is in a subdivision in a busy city on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia. Traffic is constantly growing. We see a lot of construction, and other signs of “progress”. Life moves at a steady clip, new challenges and unexpected happenings are the norm. Our house is one of many in a subdivision just off of a main drag, or more accurately, two main drags, which are packed with cars and trucks most hours of the day. It’s busy around here. Our house is on a neighborhood street with houses to the left, to the right, and in front. But, behind our house……
We have a large fenced yard with lots of trees, lots of shrubs, and things which grow whether we want them to or not. Our yard is rustic and unrefined. Behind our fence is a large patch of woods which provides natural drainage for many of the yards in our neighborhood. There are several acres of undisturbed woods backed up to our yard, right here in the middle of this hustling, bustling city. In fact, there are a number of similar woodland areas throughout our city. These woodlands provide a habitat for wildlife, who make their way precariously across 4-lane roads to traverse the terrain from one patch of woodlands to another. Our house is perched on a hill which provides a great lookout point above our patch of woods. Looking out our back window, we can see acres of undisturbed, undeveloped forest from a bird’s eye view. In spring and summer, when the trees are full of leaves, we see mostly green. But, in the fall and winter, we see much more as wildlife make their way through the woods.
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Interestingly, all 4 of the houses that Rob and I have owned over the years have backed up to undeveloped land. We have never had backyard neighbors, even though each of those 4 houses was in a busy neighborhood in a large city. We have always had a piece of undisturbed land to observe from the back of our house. For us, looking out the window to see nature has always had a calming and steadying effect, no matter what trials or tribulations we have faced. But, I remember one time, when we lived in a different city, the backyard wasn’t calm. That was the night when the cows came home.
Rob and I lived in a small house with our beloved bloodhound dog Louise. Louise was a hot mess, but we loved her very dearly. We had a small fenced backyard where Louise enjoyed spending time. She often slept outside in her doghouse at night. On the other side of our fence was a large empty pasture. We would sometimes help Louise hop the fence so we could walk around the pasture and explore. We never saw anyone or anything in the pasture. Completely vacant. One night, Louise was sleeping outside when she suddenly started barking furiously and frantically. It was about 2:00 in the morning, so I groggily stumbled to the door to chastise her and bring her into the house. But when I opened the door, I was so surprised at the scene that I forced myself to wake up fully so that I could take it all in.
Lined along our back fence were about 20 cows, all staring at our yard. They were chewing and taking turns mooing. They all had expressions of mild interest, as in “What have we here?” As their moos crested and waned, Louise raced back and forth across the yard and towards the fence, sounding the alarm. The bark and howl of a bloodhound is an amazing thing. The sound is deep and guttural. It starts as a sound so throaty that you almost can’t hear it. But, you can’t not hear it. At first, a very low pitch “Ahhh….”, which transforms into a very high pitch “Oooo”.
When Louise howled, she lifted her head high into the air and formed her lips into the perfect O.
“Ahhh….Oooo”, “Ahhh….Ooooo”, “Ahhh…Oooo” On this occasion, Louise was in rare form. She was Barney Fife to the max, rushing about telling everyone, anyone, that something was very wrong in the yard and we needed to Nip It In the Bud. I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous scene as I dragged her into the house. She was so proud that she had called out the alarm. As the days went by, the cows checked in on her from time to time, and she rose to the occasion again and again, letting us know that intruders were lurking. The cows hung around in the pasture for a few months, then they were moved off to another field somewhere. Louise kept vigil watching to see if they would reappear; if the cows would come home again.
Similarly, the unpredictability of the woods behind our current house is what makes them so fascinating. At times, we see nothing but squirrels running around the woods. But, at other times, we see deer, small and large herds, walking, playing, locking antlers. We see a raccoon or a fox. We see woodpeckers of all kinds, including the prehistoric looking giant Pileated Woodpecker. We hear a variety of owls through the night. We see hawks swooping through the trees watching us with their calculating eyes. And, this week, for the first time I spotted a coyote.
For weeks, our neighborhood has been rocked by the middle-of-the-night sounds of coyote. The blood-thirsty, maniacal laughing, screaming sound of coyotes. Their cackle screams carry through the night, and the sound, quite frankly, is unnerving. I’ve never heard anything quite like it. But, during the day, when I spotted a coyote just outside our fence, I was excited. You see, even though some of the wildlife might be destructive or even dangerous to our homes, our yards, or pets, I still love to see the animals wandering through our woods. Nature claiming its space, not to be overtaken by human progress.
Here's a better close-up view of the coyote: (LOL)
Because of our vantage point looking out over the woods, we can watch animals move around and see their patterns of behavior. We can see which knoll they repeatedly walk over, which fallen trees they congregate around, where they seek shelter. We have a fascinating perspective.
For years, I had a favorite tree in our yard. The tree had two side branches that stuck out in a way that looked like arms, one raised above the other. I dubbed the tree The Conductor. I loved to think about The Conductor standing resolutely in the yard, facing the woods, arms raised, ready to lead a symphony of singing birds, rustling leaves, scampering squirrels, and wandering wildlife. A few years ago, I was sad to see that a storm had knocked the limbs off of the tree. The Conductor retired. But, the symphony lived on--lives on. The animals who come and go daily continue to give me a sense of peace that all is right.
There is something comforting about knowing that nature will carry on, continuing no matter what. Recently, the worldwide pandemic brought us humans to our knees and changed everything about our lives. But, the woods stayed alive with animals hunting or foraging for food, protecting their young, traveling from one location to the next. The animals put one foot in front of the other, carrying on, unfazed by the swirling chaos that we felt. I find that very reassuring. A steady continuity of life. Nature will find a way.
And, that’s why I love our backyard.