Earlier this morning while doing laundry in my basement, I looked up above in the window well and saw what I thought was an old friend.
Last year around the same time, I found out I had a pine vole taking up residence in the same window well. At first, I didn't even know it was a vole. It seemed somewhat blind, and had a triangularly-shaped head. I researched it on the internet, and found out they are pretty common in this area, and like to live in leaf litter and soft soil. They eat roots, seeds, bark, berries and sometimes insects. That describes my window well just about perfectly, as there is a inch or two of fresh mulch at the bottom.
I wondered if it was the same little feller from last year. I hadn't seen any voles since last year around the same time. I mused that maybe he lived somewhere warmer in the winter, but decided to spend his summers in Bethlehem in the little vole condo in my window well. There's no pool, but my garden hose is nearby.
Further reading about voles then dispelled my theory. The poor little things only live to be about three months old! This one looks young though, so maybe he (or she) has a good two months to live. I sure hope so. So far, it's the best pet I ever had. It stays on the property, I don't have to feed it or let it out, and it might be eating bugs that could infiltrate my residence.
Long live the voles!
No comments:
Post a Comment