Symbiotic Relationships

I just came in from shopping and there were two men picking grapes in the vineyard. I had told them a few days ago that they could. I do not try to keep track of who is picking but people are very careful to ask if they can. I always say yes as I want to share God's bounty.

Seeing them reminded me that the bow hunters will be here this week-end. They do call me when they are on the property, as I want to know when they are here. It is helpful to have them hunt here. We are between two parks and the deer thrive in this area right on the lake.
Keeping their population in check is a help for the neighborhood gardeners as well. I have a solar powered electric fence to keep them out of my vegetables. They pretty much graze where they want to otherwise. They come when I do not always see them, around dawn and dusk.

I have another visitor here who keeps the voles in check. I first saw him about six months ago. He is a beautiful calico cat. He just walks through and sits on the rock wall waiting for a snack to appear. After my last cats disappeared I noticed a big increase in the voles in my garden. So he is welcome indeed.

In previous years I have always had garden lizards down in my raised beds. I saw them earlier in the year but have not lately. I believe they help to rid the garden of small bugs that are not helping to improve things.

The blue birds do their part in keeping balance in nature. They have certain insects which they find tasty. They are not nesting now. In fact I dropped the door to their house out in front. I noticed a squirrel had started a nest in it. I do not want them to gnaw away at the 1 1/2 inch hole in the door.

The plants growing around here must be pruned or we would gradually be covered in vines and wild shrubs. Jim does that unless I am feeling ambitious. I noticed the purple thistle is helping to feed the butterflies as is the lantana plants. Occasionally we see humming birds on the lantana. It will bloom until we have a hard freeze .

It is nice to have these helpers and it adds interest to life out here.