My connection with Nature is complex. Although I live in an urban area by the railroad tracks, I am surrounded by nature. For me, the various plants and animals have adopted this unnatural place.
The oak and maple trees behind my garden condo shade my small balcony. A little intermittent stream appears when it rains between the two garden condo buildings. The rocks, lining the stream, provide places for snakes to sun themselves. Of course, there are the squirrels, who nest in the trees.
How do I honor the earth? I do it in small ways. The local woodpeckers bother the neighbors with their noise. They like to drum on the gutters at daybreak, waking everyone up. I teach the neighbors the names of the various woodpeckers in our neighborhood. (We have Pileated, ladder-backed, downy, and hairy.) I think that my neighbors will appreciate these birds. One elderly man now refers to them as the ‘big bird, middle bird, and small bird.’
Also, I am known as the snake lady. Often, I will see someone with a shovel ready to whack a snake. I scream, “DON’T KILL THAT SNAKE! IT EATS RATS!” They generally thrust the snake and shovel at me, demanding I get rid of it. I usually take the snake to the local wildlife rescue person.
1 comment:
What a beautiful blog and an inspiring post. It's reassuring to know that there are still so many people out there that care about the nature surrounding them. I spent some time in the Amazon Rainforest a few years ago and it was a humbling experience - it reminded me how fragile our earth really is.
Keep up the wonderful work.
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