Gieseke Nature Preserve

Ever since we put in the grass, there has been an abundance of desert creatures coming to visit. It started with a pair of rabbits that came every evening to munch on the shady grass. They must have told all of their friends, because some nights now we have as many as 20 rabbits grazing outside while the girls and I eat our dinners. One of the rabbits had a baby, which we discovered a couple of days ago hiding by the hot tub. The baby comes out everyday too, but always retreats back under the spa.

In addition to rabbits, Andy discovered a rattlesnake on the driveway the other day. He "took care of it", but before it disappeared, we brought the girls out to show them what the snake looked like and to give them their first lesson in Snakes 101. The lesson goes like this: Never ever, ever, ever touch a snake. If you see a snake, run away and get a grown up. This lesson prompted Zoe to walk around for the rest of the day saying, "Never ever ever touch it." And Sophie began questioning who was considered a grown up.

So not only do we have rabbits and snakes, but we frequently notice quail, roadrunners and ground squirrels spending more and more time in our backyard. Today I discovered a bird building a nest on our picnic table. I mentioned it to Andy and he said we should remove it. I said I wanted to leave it because maybe the bird would leave an egg in the nest, and wouldn't that be fun for the girls to see?? The picture tells you who won that discussion:)