After celebrating the return of the Ambush Bug this morning, I decided to water the lawn. I figured these bugs should be able to survive rain storms. When I returned from some errands, the daisy had been flattened by the "rain" and the bug was nowhere to be seen. Within a half hour of turning off the sprinkler, the daisy had popped back upright and the Ambush Bus was back. Between visits to the front yard daisy, I did some thinking about how I take my rural environment and access to wilderness for granted. How can I expect city dwellers to relate to things they're seldom going to see? Then, during a brief stop at our local natural foods co-op, I sat at an outside table to talk with a friend. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a Praying Mantis egg case stuck to the frame of the picture window in front of the store. This was a nice reminder that even in urban environments, two of my favorite groups - the bugs and the weeds - are likely to make their appearance. I think the next time I go to a city, most likely Reno, I'll wander around with my camera and/or sketchbook and try to record opportunities for nature study. Come to think of it, yesterday while we were having lunch outside Whole Foods we saw quite a few blackbirds and sparrows dining on human scraps. They had become tame enough that I could have gotten close-ups with a normal lens. Next time....
After celebrating the return of the Ambush Bug this morning, I decided to water the lawn. I figured these bugs should be able to survive rain storms. When I returned from some errands, the daisy had been flattened by the "rain" and the bug was nowhere to be seen. Within a half hour of turning off the sprinkler, the daisy had popped back upright and the Ambush Bus was back. Between visits to the front yard daisy, I did some thinking about how I take my rural environment and access to wilderness for granted. How can I expect city dwellers to relate to things they're seldom going to see? Then, during a brief stop at our local natural foods co-op, I sat at an outside table to talk with a friend. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a Praying Mantis egg case stuck to the frame of the picture window in front of the store. This was a nice reminder that even in urban environments, two of my favorite groups - the bugs and the weeds - are likely to make their appearance. I think the next time I go to a city, most likely Reno, I'll wander around with my camera and/or sketchbook and try to record opportunities for nature study. Come to think of it, yesterday while we were having lunch outside Whole Foods we saw quite a few blackbirds and sparrows dining on human scraps. They had become tame enough that I could have gotten close-ups with a normal lens. Next time....
No comments:
Post a Comment