A young Bald Eagle took up residence at our home recently.

My wife and I built our home in the middle of five acres just three blocks off Main Street in a small town ten years ago. There are about ten acres of woods to the east and south of our property. Over the last ten years we've been amazed at the wildlife that have come over or under our fence to pay us a visit.

One winter morning, as I walked through the living room to the kitchen to make my morning coffee, I looked out the row of bay windows and saw the prettiest red fox on our swimming pool cover drinking water. The red fox saw me at the same time and turned and trotted off back into the woods.

"Meet Roscoe, my faithful hound dog."

As it turned out, there was a squirrel in that hollow tree. We are over-populated with squirrels. I counted ten at one time one day. We have three pecan trees, four acorn trees and several fruit trees.

Early One Summer Morning

As I'm shaving, I hear Roscoe excitedly bellowing like he has something cornered. I look out the bathroom window and can see him in the middle of the back yard pogoing something. I can't see what it is, but Roscoe is jumping a foot off the ground bouncing and letting it fly.

"Grabbing my house shoes and gun, I run to see what he has. A 20 lb., 50 year old Snapping Turtle more than a foot in diameter."

So I go back to the garage to get a snow shovel. I think I can slide it under him and drag him outside the fence to let him go in the woods. Wrong! When I tried to slide the wide flat shovel under him, he snapped the shovel and would not let go. Oh well. I drug him while he remained chomped down like a vice on that lightweight aluminum shovel.

Not Just Your Ordinary Critters

We've had visits from coyotes, but they never came over the fence. There's been four Racoons, Roscoe killed three of those Coons and one got the best of him and got away. Hasn't been back though. A few O'Possums, Armadillos, a small Tarapin Turtle, Rabbits galore although we don't see as many nowadays and two snakes (both nonpoisonous, but dead all the same).

There was a Redtail Hawk that hunted here often, but something must have happened to him or else he moved away. May be why I don't see as many rabbits anymore. I have not seen him in a while. There were four crows that routinely fed here, but they've turned into three. Sad, because they mate for life you know.

It's about 150 feet away and I couldn't get a good focus. So I stepped out on the front porch and maxed out the zoom on my iPhone. The Eagle just looked at me. Didn't fly. I stepped back in the house quickly because I did not want to scare him or her away.