Instagram/@jingervuolo
In a series of humorous snapshots depicting the unwelcomed visitors that haunt her backyard, reality personality Jinger Vuolo added equally hilarious captions to her Instagram post; “Welcome to our Backyard BnB… where the guests have claws, fangs, and zero respect for check-out time,” speaking in jest of the many wildlife encounters to which Californians are accustomed. She asked her followers to share the grizzly backyard stories, leading to a torrent of fun, and sometimes terrifying, responses.
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The post then snowballed into this behemoth of crazy stories and opinions ranging from how raccoons would dirty their composts to mountain lion sightings. One first hand account narrated incidents of a raccoon breaking into the compost bin and glaring at the house, almost as if it were demanding more sweet potato scraps. Another described in delightful detail how a mama Grey Fox raised her kits in the back of their yard. Then there were the somewhat less delightful ones where a few admitted their fears of tarantulas and rattlesnakes, with one firmly stating, “grounds for burning everything to the ground.”
Everything about Vuolo’s jocular, flippant nature in this regard ricocheted back at her in a burst of beautiful verbal contrails from wildlife aficionados from around California. One commenter, native Californian, joked about how his parents in Australia had “INFINITELY worse.” An Oklahoma native jumped in, elevating the recent horrors of snakes and frogs to “10 plagues of Egypt,” occasionally even giving the exchange some actual substance.
In some ways, this post put forth a complete display of the geographic contrasts in wildlife-human interaction. Their own were being laughed off as the most terrorizing presence: bees and toddlers. Others confirmed a distinctly more ominous preying: mountain lions hissing at their husband a few feet away at the back door. A couple of others allowed for the mention of black bear and moose as reminders that nature chooses its own way of surprising its subjects, depending on where those subjects lie.
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The combination of Deeply witty tone matched with such relatable material helped to make the post an indomitable force with many people going on to relate another example of their own absurdity or terror with these creatures. In any case, raccoons with agendas or tarantulas that send a chill through almost everyone, one thing is clear: entertaining or not, a backyard is where adventures are born. And for those pondering a move to California, these comments just might be the reality check they needed regarding life in California.