In the past week I have seen many instances of young life. I became aware that this was the season from a local news report about a 5 year old kid bitten by a young copperhead – he survived, the snake did not. The ranger said that young venomous snakes are the most dangerous because they have not yet learned to get out of the way.
The next day my companion, Trudy, barked furiously as I worked my 3 sister row (corn, bean & squash) and there was a blur of something large moving ungainly to a niche alongside the fence. Trudy’s incessant barking spurred it to flight again and Trudy quickly caught it and I, just as quickly (almost), freed it and took a snap.
With Trudy removed, the groundhog disappeared after a few moments. Then later that day while I was replenishing water in the coop, I saw a small rat in the middle of the coop. It didn’t know what to do. I seized a shovel to bash it and it ran to the corner but could not climb the wall. I saw its chest and heart heaving below the ribcage. I felt this was too one sided and guided it toward the door and when it saw the sunlight it ran out past the squawking chicken.
Then I saw a most pleasing sight. I noticed a large wasp on a kale leaf. I wondered why it was there. And peered closer and saw it was straddling a small green caterpillar. I have seen a mass of yellow jackets attack a large caterpillar which I had unearthed during digging but never a solitary wasp. Here was evidence that my no spray regimen was working – a beneficial predator at work. A couple days earlier I had read Michael Crichton’s “Micro” which featured a wasp stinging and paralyzing a victim for subsequent feeding to its young, and the moment had poignancy for me.
And I was to see more young over the next few days. The baby squirrel at the bird feeder and the baby birds including a bright blue baby bunting. The turtle on the carport pad.
And just a few minutes ago, during a visit to the compost heap, a movement caught our attention.
Do you spot it? A baby toad.