Here we are again. It's been a while since last we've spoken, so there's lots of catching up to do, except that we aren't going to do that today since so doing would be entirely too linear. We are, instead, going to go on safari to our back yards. (Oh good grief---what's he doing this time?!) Why in the world would you want to do that, you might ask yourself? The answer to that one is pretty easy---it's something you can do without having to worry about it, or pay money for the pleasure of being able to experience it. You can just do it. You don't need permission from anybody, and there are no rules, no regulations, not even any pending carbon credits! Political candidates don't weigh into it, nor do OPEC, the Euro, foreign leaders you've never heard of before, or any of the myriad of other incipient tragedies that taint our daily lives. Let's ignore 'em all and go on safari!
Back yards (or gardens, or even a potted plant if you don't have a yard) can be neat things; miniature eco-systems right there under your nose. It's simply amazing what you'll find in them, and the tiniest things can often be the most impressive and, dare I say it (don't tell my guy friends I said this) wonderful to see. (Aquariums can be even better in some respects, but since they're controlled environments we're going to leave them alone today and concentrate more on the things we can't control.)
When my kids were little we used to play a game called Square Foot, so we'll start our safari there. What you do is lay down on your tummy someplace in your yard. Front or back, it doesn't matter which, as long as there's some sort of vegetation and a minimum of neighbors to think you've finally gone off your rocker. Figure out an area that's about a square foot, give or take. (Remember, none of this has to be exact. We're having FUN here!) Now watch it. If it were me, I'd lay there for an hour or so, but how long you stay there's entirely up to you. The main thing is to do it, and pay attention to what's going on in front of you. I suspect you're mostly going to be looking at insects, but you may have a garter snake or similar come to visit too, or maybe a toad or a skink. Mostly it'll be insects though, so be prepared for Low Adventure rather than High unless you laid down in a fire ant nest or similar, in which case we can't be responsible for your complete and total lack of good sense. 'Nuff said.
Anyway, now that you've amazed yourself with just how much life is out there, let's broaden the scope a bit. Go find a tree, or a bush, or a flower, and do the same thing. Once again, it's amazing what you can find there, almost without looking. Jenny put up a hummingbird feeder a few weeks ago, and the hummingbirds dutifully came to visit. The feeder ran out of the colored stuff you put inside them, and she went out to re-fill it. There weren't any hummingbirds at the feeder, partly because it was empty but mostly because they were all congregated at the big red flowers (No, I have no idea what kind they are, so they get to be Big Red Flowers in this missive.) at the corner of the patio. I suspect they liked the nectar in the flowers about as much as they liked the solution in their feed, and we really enjoyed looking at them.
Then there was the time, a couple of weeks ago, when Jenny came in the house and announced that there was a funny leaf on the side of one of our dog houses. I immediately went out to see what it was, mostly out of curiousity but also because a fella just never knows when he might need a good dog house to stay in. Investigation of said leaf produced, not a leaf, but a Cope's Grey Tree Frog, or maybe just a Common Grey Tree Frog, but a tree frog nontheless Too cool! I'd heard them in the yard for years but never seen one, and there this one was, spending it's day sitting on the side of the doghouse. We watched it for a while, then went inside. It went back into the trees once it got dark, and we haven't seen it since although we hear it every night, but we got to see it once and that was enough. What a treasure!
We've also got some common toads living by the patio. Jenny's put in mulch and flowers back there, in an area that was once just grass, and we're developing quite a little eco-system as a result. She found the toads more-or-less by accident; one of them jumped on her when she moved a pot. There was another one hiding there too, and we found two more a few feet away. Bugs like flowers. Toads like bugs. The Labs ignore the toads. It works for everybody, and we don't have to spray with pesticides. (We have a lot of Mediterranean geckos back there too, but that's a story for another time.)
Last week it was a turtle, a big ol' slider that one of the dogs had found and turned on its back. We turned it right way up (turtles and tortoises suffocate if left on their backs for too long) and it immediately began to beat feet to get out of the yard, but it was there. I've found more than a few snakes out there too, but we aren't going to tell Jenny just yet---I think she'll be cool with them, but that's one example of fauna that we need to work into gradually. They apparently don't have that many snakes in Rhode Island
And that's what I know! We'll talk again soon!
hasta bye bye,
phil
