We had a special visitor in our garden today, well two actually, a kangaroo and her joey. She looks like the young mum that locals saw with a joey in her pouch earlier this year. Now her  half-grown joey feeds close by. I didn’t photograph the joey as to do so would have disturbed them. Kangaroos are flighty creatures, ever alert, always twitching their ears, surveying all directions.

It is unusual to see kangaroos so early in the afternoon. They generally sleep during the day, becoming active at dusk then grazing through the night. We know they visit us at night as the external lights go off and on. Sometimes, when the moon shines brightly and I wake up, I see them from the window . They look so peaceful, perfectly at home in our garden.

One night I walked out onto the veranda. A massive male Eastern Grey stood tall, directly in front of me, less than five metres away. We both froze in surprise, then I gently turned and quietly went inside, to let him be.

The afternoon visitors reminded me why I don’t use chemical weedkillers on the lawn. For the health of all creatures, I avoid using pesticides anywhere in the garden, Butterflies and insects abound.

Sometimes the kangaroos hop down the street to find the fauna-friendly accessible gardens. Most suburban gardeners don’t have kangaroos visiting. Still, we can all contribute the diversity and well-being of our native fauna in urban areas.