Everyday I see at least one bunny and one cardinal. And every day it is amazing. With all the open space I have seen birds (that I can't identify), squirrels, bunnies, chipmunks, hedgehogs, deer, geese, butterflies, dragonflies and big hairy bees. For me it is very serene not to be surrounded by concrete. But being close to nature reminds me of animal hardships.
In early Spring a song bird made a nest in my neighbors flower box. She sat on her eggs diligently through huge thunderstorms and winds. A couple days before the eggs were ready to hatch, a crow flew in and ate them. The song bird was so sad and searched every where for her babies but she could not find them. Eventually she had to give up and flew away alone.
Today I saw a beautifully constructed nest on the ground under a big tree. There were three small bright blue eggs lying next to the nest, two of which were cracked with insects crawling inside. It must have fallen during a strong wind that have been common lately. I felt so sorry for the mama bird that had to fly away without her babies. It is a hard life to be a mama bird.
Update: Yesterday I saw a nest with four hungry baby birds chirping loudly for food that two adult birds collected nearby.
Very observant and thought provoking, Elissa. The microcosm of local nature very often reflects the macrocosm of human activity as it sculpts our lives, but rarely predicts our future course. However, local observation of nature is very valuable in shaping our reactions to life's challenges and can form a solid foundation for practical understanding of human activity. Developing tolerance to differing ideas, cultures, religions, etc., when non-violent (although violence is certainly not absent within the local nature ecosystem), is also greatly helped by the local observation of nature, especially in understanding teamwork, problem solving, and niche adaptation! Love to all, Dad XOXOX
ReplyDelete