FOOTSTEPS    

I am grateful for the gifts bestowed by the countryside, but it’s important to acknowledge that I don’t always return the favor.

Some good comes of intruding on nature, of poking one’s nose into nests and pools and even the occasional tryst.  If you share your adventures, you may remind others to value the wilderness and care for it. If you notice problems, you might be able to repair them and even prevent others.

But our very presence does damage. It disrupts animals. It transports seeds and plants to places they may do harm. It may actually maim and kill.

Fences can be deadly. Two taut wires twisted around a fawn’s leg held her tight. We wanted to help her, but she was scared to death of us. She screamed and kicked and thrashed. Eventually we freed her, but her leg was dislocated. She ran amazingly fast on 3 legs and disappeared beyond the pond. The vet said the leg might snap back into place, but I think he was being kind. Fences are not one of man’s greatest inventions if you’re a wild animal.

Yesterday I watched a painted turtle up in the woods. She was pawing at the ground, so I figured she was covering her eggs. I watched for half an hour. When I walked closer, I saw that she was caught in a fence and was struggling to get free. I pried her loose, happy she wasn’t a snapper. If someone hadn’t put in that fence a century ago, it would never have happened. On the other hand if I hadn’t been walking in the woods, she would still be there.

Our fields had always been mowed by local farmers. We let them go wild, and the very next year, ground-nesters returned like magic. Dickcissels and meadowlarks sang their hearts out. But when I mow walking paths through the deep grasses, I also mow snakes, butterflies, and even a frog or two. Not a good feeling.

You can make planks out of our weeds out here. I was hacking at some scrub bushes that were too close to the house.   I cut a branch and just one second too late saw a warbler nest. I tried to prop it up but mama left the area.

You can’t really know the impact you have. It’s easy to step on turtle eggs or baby mice and never know it. It’s easy to distress a rabbit when you don’t even know you’re standing by her babies.

Nature takes balance. I enjoy it, notice it, learn about it. Respect it. Repair it. But I also know that not every creature is thrilled to see me coming.