Establishing Boundaries

 

Despite living in a suburban area, we seem to have almost as many wild animals here as when we lived in the foothills of the Sierras, except for black bears or mountain lions which were rarely seen. Deer roam freely through our suburb of Detroit, pruning the plants and shrubs. Aside from collisions with automobiles, their only predators are coyotes!

Coyotes? Al and I were surprised to hear their wails one evening, shortly after moving from California. We felt surprisingly at home upon hearing them, but couldn’t imagine having coyotes come through our area. Perhaps it is because we live adjacent to a large cemetery. Recently, Al found the carcass of a young deer near our driveway, on the cemetery’s side of the fence. It looked like the work of hungry coyotes.

 Another surprise was seeing wild turkeys along neighborhood and city streets, sometimes crossing in front of traffic! Al and I always enjoyed watching them forage for food in the foothills. On our evening walks down by the Tule River, occasionally we would see the heavy birds “crash” into trees where they roosted for the night. We haven’t seen any turkeys for the past two or three years though. They should learn to use the crosswalks!

Instead of coveys of quail, robins nest in the shrubs around our house and cardinals in the forsythia along the cemetery fence. I appreciate seeing the wildlife, maybe even more so now that we live in such a heavily populated area. 

Ground squirrels were prolific in the country and kept Al busy trying to discourage them from digging holes on our property. Michigan squirrels build their nests in the tops of large, old trees, sturdy enough to last through the rugged winters, while chipmunks burrow into the ground.

However, the squirrels and chipmunks seem to create as much of a problem for home owners here as the ground squirrels did previously. Since we began planting a garden, we’ve noticed an influx of chipmunks. Al and I quickly learned that they seem to have an affinity for strawberries and tomatoes.

 After a couple of years, we stopped trying to grow all of the above and just stuck to peas, green peppers, broccoli, beets, green beans…none of which seemed to be part of their daily diet.  This year, we put in one tomato plant, knowing there would have to be some way to prevent the little rodents from eating the tomatoes.

A mixture of cayenne pepper, dish soap and water sprayed directly on the fruit seemed to help, along with a smelly spray used around the perimeter of the bed and on the leaves. At least there were fewer tomatoes that were eaten or partially chewed.

There also were attempts at burrowing near the garden, something we wanted to discourage. In fact, we didn’t want any burrowing at all in the yard or around the house. When we found a hole in the window well around a basement window, we filled it in and laid down wire mesh over the dirt.

A few days ago, three small Animal Repellers equipped with flashing lights and ultrasound were installed at strategic points around the garden area. All of these deterrents—sprays, filling in holes, ultrasound animal detectors—combined seem to have made a difference.

What time, effort and expense just to establish some boundaries for chipmunks!

I think of the ways in which our lives are governed by boundaries—property lines, ordinances, rules, regulations, laws—and realize that even though we don’t necessarily like them, we need them!

Then there are God’s commands to love Him whole-heartedly and to love others selflessly. Keeping them comes with the promise of His love and blessing, not only for ourselves but for future generations. May we endeavor always to love!

“But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.” (Psalm 103: 17-18 NIV)

“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:10-13 NIV)