I think that many of us are so busy in our day to day lives that we miss the gentle nuances that you can find spending time in nature. When you slow down to stop, look and listen, you can develop relationships with small animals, birds and even insects.
We spend time each day outside working in the garden or building outdoor projects. The squirrel that we saved from the fishing net has started visiting us each time we are outside. It runs up to us and, if we aren’t quick enough to offer a peanut, it climbs up to about our knee. I was out moving water in the rain the other day and he still came out and found me, taking a peanut and then finding shelter under a camping trailer to eat it. Just this afternoon I captured him climbing my boot. He trusts that we will give him a snack and we trust that he won’t hurt us with his claws.
The robins that were nesting under our deck were ousted from the nest by their momma on Friday. I saw them in the nest in the morning when I went to empty the nearby rain bucket. By afternoon, the nest was empty. The rain was steadily dripping on the nest. It was a good opportunity for the momma Robin to teach her fledglings how to find bugs. The next day I saw one fledgling in the grass and momma in a branch above with a dangling worm. The momma was not scared that I would hurt her baby. Although she let us know when the mower annoyed her while nesting, I think she was grateful for the safe shelter of the deck to hatch her babies.
The third relationship I mentioned is with insects. I want to mention bees specifically. I used to be terrified of bees so much so that, if I heard the tell tale buzzing, I would run into the house. Fast forward to today and me standing in a clover patch where I can see a dozen or so bees buzzing around my feet and I feel no fear, only awe.
Both Chris and I have had the opportunity to rescue bees that end up trapped in our greenhouse. They fly in through the door but then can’t find their way out. I have two butterfly nets that I trap the big bumblebees in daily and then take them outside to let them go.
Twice now, I have gone into the greenhouse in the early morning and found bees walking on the greenhouse table sluggish and almost non-responsive. I managed to get a larger one to crawl onto my net and then I took it out to the wild roses in the tree line. The bee walked off the net into the flower and immediately perked up. The next time it was a small bee and it couldn’t make it onto the net. Chris offered his cowhide gloved hand and the bee walked onto his finger. He gently carried it over to a flower and set it free. The bees can recognize faces and understand that we are safe so they trust us enough to help them. We, in turn, trust them to pollinate our fruits and vegetables without stinging us.
Of course there is the relationship with the chickadees which takes a vacation during mating season. I feed one a week these days as opposed to the twenty I feed daily in winter. Soon enough they will start visiting me again. Their absence allows me to focus on developing relationships with other creatures.
So, if you are open to it, take the time to get close to creatures out in nature and they will reward you with their trust. Seeing them up close and watching them day to day can be very rewarding.
Building up special bonds.