Nature is a Nuisance Around Here

This past week, I walked down to the mailbox, and on my way back, I passed a wild animal trap with a dead possum in it. Apparently, the HOA has instructed the grounds keeper in our condo community to trap wild animals that stray onto the property. He is to relocate them to the park down the street.

This is like telling someone to trap air and relocate it to the next room.

Even in the city, nature is alive and well. And honestly, it upset me that our HOA is participating in such a stupid, uninformed practice of relocating the ubiquitous residents of the urban forest. They are alive and well and in abundance. They come onto the property to eat from bird feeders and drink from bird baths. I am not a wildlife biologist, but damn! How myopic to trap and trap and trap and then actually let an animal die... in a trap... by the condo unit.... WITH THE BIRD FEEDERS!!!

Let's take a moment to relax into the picture below. Enjoy the mighty beauty of the sunrise over the natural world. I can't wait to get back to it.

Snakes

I'm so happy you all had a good laugh over the toilet dilemma that awaits our arrival on our new piece of raw land. Our land is about 10 miles from that sunrise up there in that picture. I once saw a flock of wild turkeys where that sunrise is happening. I've seen a deer or two there. Heard a few coyotes singing from that location. As I recall, I took that picture about 10 years ago on a cool spring morning. What is not present just yet, is a snake.

Snakes are so scary to people. I mean, yeah. If you're uninformed you may get bit, but if you're informed, you can safely put that hoe away and simply avoid close contact with a snake. Snakes don't want to be around you either. They don't like you any more than you like them. In a few weeks, I will be tasked with teaching at least one of my family members how to live in harmony with snakes.

Just like that poor possum that died in a trap, snakes may be near by because they need food or water, or maaaayyybeee... you decided to move into that snake's territory. Snakes don't wander aimlessly. They have about a 3 foot by 2 mile wide territory. Instinct dictates their lives. I surely do wish humans would think about this before they decide to kill off animals that have a purpose in nature. I understand the need to remove them for safety reason - because most people don't vibe with the natural world so good - but if you're thinking about a land purchase, please be considerate of the neighbors.

Poison Ivy

I hate this shit.

I looked up it's benefits. None to humans. However, deer eat it. It's a food source. Some bug or something places it's larvae on the underside of the leaves for safety reasons. Otherwise, it's a plantlife terrorist. 

If you're in a non-manicured setting, the stuff likes to grow just along the line between the shaded woods and the full sunlight. It looks like this.

Go ahead and blow that picture up to see the 5 points on the leaves. The red stem. The seemingly harmless and beautiful 3 leaf cluster. Just like snakes, it will always be there. It's up to you to learn how to avoid it. 

Don't Close Your Eyes and Miss It

Here's the truth. I'm upset about that dead possum because it was a juvenile, and it used to quietly sit in the tree in my courtyard, hurting no one. I have no food or standing water for it. It was just living its life. When I feel trapped in a confined space, populated by tired trees and waning sunlight, I like the serendipitous appearance of a wild animal.

Nature tries very hard to keep a foothold on this city. There is nothing as beautiful as blooming wildflowers, climbing vines out of control with color, and a fancy cardinal singing his spring love song. 

It is the promise, to the human race, that nature is too powerful to defeat. No matter what tragedy we exact on it, it continues to forgive us and remind us that it is our mighty keeper.

Happy Easter, everyone.