Not All “Pets” Live Indoors.
Most of my posts are focused on indoor domesticated pets. For this post, I thought it would be fun to change it up a bit and spotlight some of the unusual and unexpected visitors I’ve enjoyed in my humble Arizona backyard. I keep fresh water and food out round the clock and, with all my giant shade trees providing much-needed relief from the Arizona desert heat, my yard has become the “go-to” spot in my neighborhood for all kinds of wildlife. Here are just a few of the visitors that have come along and stayed with us awhile. Click on each photo for its video. Enjoy!?
LINUS THE LIZARD
June 2011. Meet Linus the Lizard. This big guy showed up on my block wall one afternoon. Pretty much minding his own business, but freaked me out nonetheless. In fact, I was shaking so badly I couldn’t hold my camera steady enough to get a good video of him! Yes, I’m one of those scaredy cats. Go ahead and laugh, I don’t care. At least I got this great photo — isn’t he beautiful? He’s about 15-18″ long. Anyone know what type of lizard he is? I did an online search but haven’t figured it out yet. We’ll just call him Linus and leave it at that. He didn’t stick around long anyway. My yard was just a pit stop along his travels, it seems. P.S. I’ve just been told that Linus appears to be a juvenile Komodo Dragon which, when adult, can grow up to ten feet long and weigh over 400 pounds, can run up to 12 mph, are extremely poisonous, and they eat dogs, cows, pigs, etc. YIKES! Boy am I glad Linus didn’t decide to take up permanent residence in my back yard!!
VERN THE PRAYING MANTIS
May 2015. Vern is a very friendly, cool dude. So I’m sitting on the back patio enjoying the day, and along comes this really big green bug strolling up to my chair. The big green bug stops and looks at me for a long minute, then hikes up my arm all the way to my shoulder and plants himself next to my chin. As I sit frozen with initial misgiving, he relaxes and enjoys the sun on his face. Satisfied with this vantage point, he eventually turns to me and winks and says “Hey Girl, how you doin’?” Now somewhat more relaxed, I reply “Hey Bug, I’m doin’ good, wussup?” Bug says “Oh, just chillin’ in this beautiful Arizona sun.” So I say “Hey Bug, mind if I take your photo?” Bug says “Thass cool, Girl, but let me primp a little first. You know I gotta look ‘fly’ for the camera.” It was a nice chat.
ALVIN MY ARIZONA SQUIRREL
Dec 2020. Alvin is such a doll! He hangs out in the “corridor” that runs between my back yard wall and the wall of the neighbors behind me. The tunnel is barely 6-8″ wide, but lets him travel the neighborhood safely hidden away from coyotes and owls. I give Alvin raw almonds every day, so he comes closer and closer to me as trust builds. This day I put lettuce out for the first time. It was a really big hit. Alvin skipped right past the almonds and went for the green. Alvin is quite large, almost the size of my cats, and the most beautiful squirrel i’ve ever seen. His coat is bushy and luscious, almost fox-like. He’s a stunning fellow. Fascinating how choppy and robotic his movements are. Just another one of my beloved back yard buddies.?
QUENTIN THE QUAIL
May 2021. Look at this stunning fellow! My apology for the camera jitters. I was filming Quentin from inside my house, so had to set my camera on highest zoom, which is hyper-sensitive to focus and movement. Even in spite of the technical challenge, boy am I glad I captured this big boy hanging out and ruffling his feathers like king of the hill. So gorgeous! And hear his song — magnificent vocals! I gotta say — God has quite the imagination. Has He done some glorious work on this earth or what. ?
MAMA BOBCAT AND KITTENS
Sep 2021. I always check the trees before letting my small dog or cats outside, because my giant 30-40′ Eucalyptus tree is a favorite hiding place for certain predators: owls, hawks, and most recently bobcats. While standing at the foot of the tree and scanning the topmost branches this morning, I kept hearing a low, guttural growl. What I hadn’t seen when I first walked up to the tree was a mama bobcat perched in the tree only seven feet above the ground, barely inches away from my face. She was sitting very still, but warning me with her throaty deep growls. Naturally, I became very still so not to threaten her further. I looked above her into the outer branches and saw two babies. She was hiding her kittens safely away so she could go off and hunt or take a much-needed mommy break.
I backed slowly away to a safe distance and then ran inside for my cell camera — was very lucky to capture a multitude of photos and videos. Once I retreated inside and Mama Bobcat felt comfortable that I was not a threat, she left my yard, while the kittens remained high up in the tree. So I called the Fish & Wildlife folks for guidance in the off-chance Mama might have abandoned the little ones. They said to absolutely stay back and leave the babies alone, that almost guaranteed Mama would come back for them in about four hours or so. It ended up being more than eight hours when she finally returned to collect her family and I could breathe again. A very very memorable visitation to our home. 🙂
OLIVER THE OWL
Oliver is an enormous Great Horned Owl, and tough to photograph, because he perches so high up in my Eucalyptus, and hides cleverly among the branches and leaves. I’ve taken many photos of him, but they all look like he’s just part of the tree. If I ever manage to get a good, clear photo of this elusive fellow, I’ll post it here. For now, he only gets honorable mention.
HERMIE THE HUMMINGBIRD
May 2021. I had just filled the hummingbird feeder, and little Hermie was first in line to enjoy the nectar. He was so excited and fluttering all around the feeder when he noticed my camera. Apparently he was more curious about the camera for a minute than he was hungry for food. I slowed the video so you can follow his movement. Look at him come right up to my camera and check it out! Maybe he’s welcoming you to his back yard. Listen carefully and you can hear his wings fluttering — sounds like a miniature airplane. Fascinating, absolutely captivating. 🙂
KITTY CAT COLONY
2020-2022. Over the past two years, I’ve had a number of cats come to my home looking for shelter and food. Some are completely feral; others are strays that have been abandoned. After the first litter of kittens, it became quickly apparent I needed to step up and start trapping these cats and getting them spayed and neutered. So I hooked up with Animal Defense League of Arizona, and my little cat colony began. First to be “tnr” was Chanel with her two little kittens, Calypso and JoJo Morelli. My very first trap experience and it was a huge success — I was able to trap all three the same night, which was my goal. I wanted to keep Chanel and her little ones altogether since the kittens were still pretty young. After they were altered and fully vetted and micro-chipped, I released them back into my backyard. They have stayed in my backyard ever since. My patio is their home base.
Once word got out around the neighborhood, other cats began to show up. Big Daddy, a big orange tabby, is super super friendly and loving. He’s obviously a stray someone tossed out — full of ticks and fleas, dirty dirty feet, and lots of scars, probably from being beat up by the ferals, poor sweet guy. He’s so easygoing he kept walking back into the traps to eat the food and just hang out — I actually “caught” him three more times after I had already vetted and altered him! It’s like he thinks the traps are forts to play in! I adore Big Daddy.
Next is Tommy Boy the all-grey tomcat. Tommy Boy is also most likely an abandoned house cat, because, although he’s a little bit nervous and keeps a very close eye out behind himself at all times, he’s mostly friendly and sociable too. This video of him was taken before we knew he wasn’t really feral. Calypso and Morelli were keeping a very close eye on him in the beginning, but they’re all fine with each other now. Tommy Boy loves mealtime — he takes his time and savors every bite. It can take Tommy Boy as much as 45 minutes for his first serving. After he finishes eating, he goes under the chaise lounge and stretches out and relaxes for about 20-30 minutes. Then he gets up and goes right back to the food bowl and eats again! This is his routine every single night — hard to believe he’s not a fat boy. 😀
Lastly there’s Cognac, a two-tone brown striped tomcat that is most definitely feral. He’s like smoke in the wind — no chance of getting my hands on him. Also no chance of getting any video of him yet either, but will keep trying.
Fortunately, over the course of several months I was able to get them all vetted, altered, and micro-chipped. Big Daddy has since moved on, and I miss that guy dearly. Chanel doesn’t come around as often since I trapped her — pretty sure she’s still holding a grudge. Everyone else, tho, still comes to my back patio for breakfast in the morning, naps during the day, and dinner in the evening. The “kids,” Calypso and Morelli, stay all night on their favorite pillow, and most of the day playing with all their toys and climbing trees.
They all co-exist beautifully, and it’s a happy little colony. Very glad I started altering them right away so that the colony isn’t getting any bigger. Feeding and ongoing vet care gets pretty expensive. But it’s so worth it. Calypso and Morelli are almost completely domesticated now and spend lots of time indoors with us. They love the air conditioning in the Arizona summers.
The Video That Got Away.
Early on when I first lived in this house, I was home one Saturday morning cleaning, doing laundry, and had all the doors and windows open. It was a glorious Arizona day. As I stood at the kitchen sink, I kept hearing a noise, like rushing wind, coming from outside my front door. It wasn’t a very common noise that I recognized, so curious I went to see what it was. Turns out it was one of the most breathtaking, spectacular scenes I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. There, completely covering every inch of my tall, billowing Arizona Willow tree, from top to bottom, were thousands — literally thousands — of Monarch butterflies at rest on the leaves, apparently taking a break from their migration south! And they just happened to have taken that break in my front yard! As they fluttered their wings gently in unison, the tree appeared to tremble in its full cloak of brilliant orange. I was spellbound, speechless, frozen in place at the door. By the time it dawned on me to go get my camera and come back to film them, they were gone. They had continued on their way toward the horizon. I was so completely disappointed. Doubtful a moment like that might happen twice. As fleeting as the moment was, and although I don’t get to share it with you on film, I’m profoundly thankful to have experienced such an event in my lifetime.
Thanks for letting me share these little stories with you. I will update this post as other new visitors come by to see us, so be sure to bookmark this page and check back periodically. 😀
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God Bless and Happy Pet Parenting!
With love and good wishes,
jeannie. ?
About jeannie: I’ve been pro-actively involved in pet rescue all of my life. I founded Milagro Senior Pet Refuge© (Phoenix) in 1998, and BareFootPets (TM) in 2008. Animal welfare has always been and will always be my heart’s work. If my only legacy is that I save a handful of precious souls that would not survive otherwise, I’m good with that.