Walking in the door after a long day at work, I noticed an odd smell, vaguely reminiscent of wet poultry. I turned on the light, closed the dining room window and went to turn on the heater when I discovered the source of the smell. Hamlet had brought home dinner. There on the living room floor was a bird, or what remained of a bird, surrounded by feathers spread all over the carpet. He had neatly plucked it (or not so neatly) and stood by my side gazing at his prize. He looked up at me with a serene expression.

I thanked him and cleaned up the mess. Hopefully he thinks I ate it.

The wasps are not aggressive, which surprised me. I have no idea how long they were there before I looked up one day and noticed them. There were two then, tending to their nest which appeared ready to hatch. I considered spraying them, but then it occurred to me that they were not acting aggressive because they did not perceive me as a threat, so I left them alone.

I soon forgot about them and only glanced up occasionally by pure accident. However, today I knew something was buzzing about my head so I waved my hand before I looked up to see the Tibetan bell full of wasps! They had certainly hatched and there was a constant buzz of activity with at least half a dozen wasps flying in and out. I think the youngsters were not as comfortable with me as their parents and had to buzz closer to check me out before entering or leaving the nest, but as soon as I stopped waving my hand they seemed to relax.

It was an important lesson to me about learning to live and let live, a subject I consider on a daily basis. Having grown up with a parent who kills any predator that enters her property, I on the other hand, have chosen to live peaceably, when possible, with my wild brethren. Living on a small a ranch in a rural area, we regularly have a number of wild animal visit us both during the day and at night. Most recently, a nocturnal skunk, who I think is fascinated with my garbage can…although, in its defense, it has never knocked it over.

The resident coyote pack is more of a concern. They will boldly walk down the driveway at night and howl outside my bedroom window. I have made a habit of walking up the drive past the garage talking loudly and clapping my hands to scare them away before letting the cats out in the morning. If one is in hiding, it will jump up from the brush and run away, but I’m wondering how long before it just continues napping, thinking, “Its just that crazy lady again. She’s no bother.”

My dogs have taken up sleeping spread out along the perimeter of the fence at night. I suspect they are guarding the border…