Native plants, native soil, native mouse
 

Replaced concrete with native soils a few years ago by moving dirt around my yard to fill the hole left by concrete slab removal. Didn't want to pay for top soil and a lawn, didn't want to water a lawn or treat any ground with herbicides and pesticides. So I put native plants in the native soil. I selected grasses and sage and a live oak species specific to my coastal zone of SoCal. Did it all myself to save a little cash.

Then this little guy (guys?) showed up. It is a mouse who lives nocturnally, feeds on native plant seeds, and at dawn digs holes like this one for a home.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1474174204

I caught this one digging its hole last week. (It's not in the pic, obviously.) Turns out it is an endangered Pacific Pocket Mouse native to my immediate micro-climate. It was thought extinct until 15 or 20 years ago. Now a university in San Diego has a program of reviving the species. They have been releasing lab-bred mice into the wild.

One of 'em found my native yard this summer. Way damned cool.

I had to stare at that picture for a good several minutes before deciding you weren't actually showing us a picture of the mouse.

I find my lawn doing better since i stopped mowing and picking up leaves. It looks a bit ugly during the fall, but I'm okay with that. Much better than the dry state it was in before.

Yeah. I never water this ground. The plants find what they need and are adapted to the climate. Simple. Excellent.

Time to get an endangered cat from your local animal shelter.

:) ... nah, it is an outdoor species that feeds on seeds of particular native plants. There are cats in the neighborhood and raptor birds. I am sure these are prey to them and snakes too. That must be part of why they are nocturnal. And why they barricade the entrances to their holes in the morning.

Cool. Today you told us using internet. Tomorrow, your yard is full of university people eager to see the mice.

That's cool by me. We actually emailed a grad student identified online as part of the reintroduction program. I'd love to talk with them. I'll make 'em some OJ from the tree out back...

"endangered cat" LOL

I think that's great, maybe you'll be one of the ones that survive the Hopi prophesy.

I just hope they reuse the hole, instead of making a new one every morning. :)

I think there might be several, because there are several holes. I have not counted but there must be at least four. Hahaha! I have a night vision, recording security camera I have been thinking of trying to train on that area. The mice are nocturnal. Would be cool for my daughter to see, I think. Hell, I'd love to see 'em moving around. And the neighborhood cats and maybe occasionally a coyote wandering down the street... maybe see them stop by too.