Well, I’m back.
Much has happened in the 2 years since I last posted. My
entire attitude on gardening has changed, with my focus now on welcoming and
nurturing the wildlife which has given me so much education and entertainment
since my back surgery. The recovery from the surgery was much worse than I
anticipated, though my doctors told me I did very well. It was a solid year
before I could even agree that maybe it had been a good idea. As of today, I
can say I’m not glad I had to go through it but the final product was worth it.
During that time of recovery, when lifting a gallon of milk
was a struggle, the sheer frustration of physical limitations made me
unbearable. I was angry a lot. I had no interest in anything, including my
blog. My last post, about the
bluebirds, was a struggle to write. I simply
couldn't get excited about writing when I wanted to be out working in my
garden.
I spent a great deal on the summer of 2012 sitting on my
patio in front of the pond. I stared at nothing for hours. Occasionally, I
would notice movement around me. Eventually, I even paid attention. I started
keeping a small journal with me and noting down the critters that joined me for
the day. A lot of them were ones I had never seen before, not because they were
new but because I hadn't paid attention. Stacks of field guides started making
the trip outside with me, giving me names for these strangers.
An interesting thing happened at that point. I discovered
that knowing the name of a critter increased its importance to me. I was
intrigued by it. Now I could say “I know your name! I read about you in a book!
Do you do the things the book says you should do? Why don’t you look like the
other ones I saw pictures of?” It was
along the lines of learning a person’s name. Suddenly, they’re not just a face
in a crowd; they have a name. They are unique and not strangers anymore. And I
wanted to get to know them better.
Once I started paying
attention, I was amazed at how diverse a population could be found on my little
plot of land. I had always known what a wasp looked like but I began
discovering just how many different types of wasps inhabited the garden and
surroundings. Some were gentle giants, like the golden digger wasp, while
others were little terrors, like yellow jackets.
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Golden Digger Wasp |