Inadvertent Habitat

Until I started using firewood in December,

it hadn't occurred to me how perfect a woodpile is for storing acorns, sheltering a nest of mice,

or biding over the next generation of moths until spring.

The mice may well have provided food for the screech owls that nested in one of our trees last year.

In the future, I'm thinking of making enough woodpiles that some may stay through the winter, as compact habitat serving the varied needs of varied critters.