What Happens to Nature Happens to Each One of Us

· We are all an integral part of nature – what happens to nature happens to each and every one of us, young and old . I have been thinking about stewardship of nature. How the ecosystems are so vulnerable and need our protection. I see so many examples of this all around me even with in my own garden. I want to show you some of the plants and animals I have had the pleasure of meeting this past week to show you some of what we need to protect. Share these with your children because after us it will be up to them to continue this very important job. Nature is all around us for us to enjoy, you don't need to travel far and wide. Most of these encounters have been within an hour from my home and quite a few of them just outside my front or back door. It worries me when people write me and say they never see snails or other small creatures. I don't know if they just aren't looking hard enough or know where to look or if they have already left that ecosystem because of climate change or pollution. I find snails everywhere I go. Here is my nature slide show . Sit back and enjoy the ride.

In just over a week I saw a great many animals and plants all very close to my home. Did you see the baby bird ( a cardinal) that we rescued after it fell out of its nest. We really enjoyed watching mom and dad cardinals feeding the little one all weekend. One picture I didn't get was the little chipmunk that I managed to get out of Edgar's mouth . It was scared but otherwise intact and quickly scurried up the nearest tree. You can look after the wildlife in your own yard and come to it's assistance . You can also look for opportunities to volunteer with nature conservation groups in your area. My daughter wants to volunteer this weekend to act as a bodyguard for 3 little baby plovers at the beach just north of here. Their were only two nesting pairs and one family was wiped out by a hail storm a few weeks ago. The second family hatched after the storm and needs our protection. After seeing pictures of the little darlings who wouldn't want to volunteer.

I can't think of a better way to spend a summer weekend. The volunteers will also be allowed to camp near the beach if they want to spend the night. Have you had any encounters with wildlife this week?

Comments

[Molly]

Sigh. Some lovely images here... I'm currently at the Cloquet Forestry Center at a poetry retreat, and I'm loving every living minute of it. And we've been camping and I love the opportunity to get into the dirt and look out at the world... it's such a beautiful world, isn't it?

[Molly]

Sigh. Some lovely images here... I'm currently at the Cloquet Forestry Center at a poetry retreat, and I'm loving every living minute of it. And we've been camping and I love the opportunity to get into the dirt and look out at the world... it's such a beautiful world, isn't it?

[Annie]

I think some people just don't notice these things. I know I didn't start paying attention until a few years ago. My dad was a wildlife biologist and was always pointing out animals along the way, and my mom was a plant person--I silently refused them all, I think as some silly act of minor rebellion.

And now here I am as an adult, showing my toddler the snake I found in the garden yesterday or showing him how to get a ladybug to crawl on your hand, and trying to learn the names of the plants in our yard and neighborhood. It's been exciting for me to learn these things and to begin noticing them all around me--we have snails everywhere too :)

[anne]

Thank you! How beautiful and surprising and wonderful.
What did I see this week? Ribbon garter (my first)and regular garter snakes, fat toad, wood frogs, bluebird, indigo bunting, deer, wild turkey. And some really fat spiders.

[Patricia]

Keep showing us your lovely images, and I think you will help us all develop a better eye for seeing and preserving the natural world.

My son and I did a little survey of moss in our yard yesterday and found lots of patches of what looks like Irish moss (which is not even a moss!). We saw an earthworm in one really dense patch, and his antics provided fun viewing. We also picked lots of black raspberries from our own wild little bushes. The day before that we saw two wild turkey mamas with their broods of chicks walking across the school playground. We have two baby fawn brothers who cross our yard often. And, of course we are enjoying our daddy long legs spiders, too.

I wonder if the widespread use of pesticides on suburban lawns has something to do with people not seeing snails in their yards. We have never used any kinds of chemical sprays, and we have always had quite the crop of snails, even in our tiny urban lot in California years ago. My daughter used to follow their slime trails and she thought of the snails as her little playmates.

[Berlinswhimsy]

What a wonderful tour & always a great reminder! I should do this, too, with my kids. I bet we would find all sorts of creatures. We caught tadpoles in the nearby irrigation ditch today and while my kids were engrossed in their hunt, I noticed little water snails----they reminded me of the snails we used to see in the ocean tidepools...

[bluemountainsmary]

what an absolute treat this was Margie. I went through all the photos several times so that I could enjoy them to the utmost.

I do love your perspective on the world we live in.

[Charity]

The birds are so cute! I notice quite a bit of wildlife, but then I might be more likely to look for it than most people. I don't know. I actually just blogged about a walk my family and I took and all of the things we saw while out. Perhaps it's just where we live but I'd like to think not.

[Elsita :)]

Thank you Margie for this post!!!!!
Very soon we are going to take a week-long vacation in a place where it is all about nature! Natalie will be attending an art camp over there and she will be creating lots of things based on her observation of nature. These photos are just so beautiful and they remind me to be more aware about all the living things around us.
Thank you so much!!!
Elsita :)

[karen]

You are so right, we are all in such a hurry, we miss nature's wonder! The snail shells on those snails are beautiful. They are land snails, correct? We dont have anything that beautiful here just brown pesky ones! Your blog is wonderful! karen b...
recycledrita.blogspot.com

[karen]

You are so right, we are all in such a hurry, we miss nature's wonder! The snail shells on those snails are beautiful. They are land snails, correct? We dont have anything that beautiful here just brown pesky ones! Your blog is wonderful! karen b...
recycledrita.blogspot.com