Yesterday, I was picking up the yard junk that seems to accumulate back behind the garden / barn area and I found this piece of drainpipe. It was seemingly destined for the landfill with the other junk I had been collecting, but a little effort and about 15 minutes turned it into a refuge for little critters.
All I did was cover it with a mound of my sandy soil and then add a little brushy palmetto camoflauge to make it blend in.
Those palmettos will brown over time, but they will still add the right brushiness ... and we have plenty of replacements!
So now the hawk may have to work a little harder, but the snakes and small furry types will have a place to dash into when needed.
It's open at both ends so if you do dash in there while being pursued, you have the option to dash on out the other side.
If you've ever been chased before, you know that's a good thing.
15 comments:
More bee houses? Rat houses?
Very good idea and thanks on behalf of the little things that might use it. :)
You really do like to save the rattlesnakes, don'tcha? ;)
Great idea, however...especially when the freeze starts arriving on a nightly basis.
I try to do what I can to provide refuge in my city yard for critters; thanks for all your great tips!
What a great idea! I love what you do with bamboo for bees and drain pipe for the little critters. Such good thinking, and very inspirational.
Ah jeez! I just moved a ton of pipe of various sizes from under the deck, specifically to prevent all the critters from feeling so at home. Perhaps you would too, if the critter in question was most generally a pack rat, and their favorite chewing material seemed to be various wires and hoses under the hood of your JEEP. Then again maybe not. There are all kinds of stewards I suppose. The pipe was moved down closer to the creek until such time as it can be hauled away by the salvage guy. So, I didn't exactly eliminate the habitat (yet), just moved it further away from the car, the truck, the tractor, the mowers, etc.
What a great idea! Almost as good as the bamboo art below.
I've got some of those scraps too - I'll have to get out and do some digging.
Great habitat ideas. There is no shortage of scrap drainage pipe around here, however I don't think I could muster up any bamboo.
Pablo,
It would be just my luck for a ground nesting hornet colony to move in to this creation of mine.
POPatricia,
Thanks and they're welcome. I've got more in store ...
Laura,
Well, I was hoping for an Indigo, but this is equal opportunity housing so everyone is welcome.
MoMadness,
That is so important. The combined effects of many people doing even small efforts like I've shown here can make big differences.
Robin,
Thanks, everybody wins if they use the habitats. They get a place to live and I get to have them around.
Win-Win.
Wolfling,
No, I agree with you. The critters don't get to make my life miserable and I would have move those pipes away from the house and my precious JEEP too!
Wayne,
It was actually fun in the cool weather and it got me thinking about all kinds of possibilities.
I need to scatter some water sources next since that is a scarce resource in dry spells like the current one.
Hal,
I'm wishing I had planted more bamboo years ago. It's so handy and the two varieties I have are not hard to control at all. My big want is the giant timber bamboo.
Well that's pretty handy for little critters to hide in or make their escape.
Sandy,
I'll let ya know if I see anybody using it.
I love these last two posts- ever so much healthier than giving them domino's pizza. :-)
Vicki,
We have to feed ours Pizza Hut. Domino's doesn't deliver (or exist) in our area. The stop sign a mile past our house as far as the Hut drivers will go. We barely fell into their delivery zone.
Only you would think to make a safe haven out of a piece of junk. You are a real softie. Heh!
Hick,
Something for the archaeologists to ponder ...
Post a Comment