Tag: nature

Windows Open

The sounds of life drifting in through open windows… it has been a long time. There’s birdsong aplenty here by Cold Swamp. So much sweet twittering of finches, the odd, buzzing song of the redwing blackbirds, the piercing call of the hawks, it’s all lovely. The global pandemic is changing the way I look at things, at lots of things, maybe everything. I hear kids out playing with siblings in nearby yards, dogs barking in the distance, traffic going by. I love the sound of the wind in the trees.

I left the windows open all night last night. Our dog was lying on our bed when the coyotes started howling off somewhere. She was all ears for their moonlit concert and so was I. She was alert and tense, focused on her job of defending the borders of our pack’s territory no doubt, but I feel a strange peace hearing their wild calls. The coyote’s song calms and soothes me. I live inside strong walls I am not in danger. I find it comforting that these creatures survive and thrive nearby. It’s nice to live in a place with a semi-functioning ecosystem. Coyotes help keep some kind of balance by hunting deer, rabbits, mice and such and they are needed. Our coyotes are amazing. Around here, before the gray wolves were killed off, the coyotes and gray wolves interbred preserving something of the ancient bloodline of those wolves in their craftier, more fertile cousins. So our coyotes are bigger than some, sturdier, stronger, but they are very much as clever and enduring as any others of their kind. I love them.

But I love almost all animals. I love the little songbirds and the hawks, the turkey vultures and partridges, I love the chipmunks, squirrels and rabbits and even the damn mice that invade my home. I want to live in balance with the world around me. I want there to be space here for all of us. As humans we need to be less greedy about space, we need to find ways to live with the wild creatures around us, they are our kin, they are necessary. I love raccoons, groundhogs, and possums. Bless the tick-eating possums till the end of all! I love the snakes and salamanders, the cute little tree frogs and all their cousins. I love the snapping turtles that wander through my yard and the fierce fisher-cats in the woods. My son and I watched a fisher cat cross our yard a few months back, it was gorgeous, large and fierce, I love it here. We get to see so much wildlife in our own yard. I’ve watched wild turkeys strut up our driveway, deer browsing on the edge of the swamp, hawks and vultures circling overhead, and all manner of birds and rodents flourishing.

So you will never catch me poisoning my yard to deal with pests, you will never see me pulling up the dandelions that feed the bees, what you will see is me planting my feet and arguing strenuously that the only mice or ants that need killing are the ones invading the walls and pantry and that none of the wild things that live outside are doing anything other than what they should. If the rabbits and chipmunks eat everything I plant? Well, that’s on me, besides I am a terrible gardener anyway, at least I’m providing appetizers for someone. If moles and voles and whatever else make a mess of the lawn? I never wanted the lawn anyway. They are terrible ecologically and ours is a crazy mix of grasses, moss and weeds, it’s kind of cool actually. I’m ok with protecting the house and its contents but if a pine marten wants to tunnel around the old stump? Tunnel away little one. Eat mice, grow fat.

I’m listening to a woodpecker rapping away at a hollow tree now. It’s a far lovelier sound that the noise of the cars going by or the power tools in the distance. I think I can hear some ducks out there in the swamp, maybe one day soon I’ll hear the geese returning from their annual vacation. I’ll just be here, quarantining, listening to crazy-quilt symphony of life where the wild things are.

Day 53

I need to get outside. Does anyone know how to ruthlessly murder a million ticks without poison? Everytime I go out into my yard, even just to walk the dog I come back with at least one tick on me. It’s horrifying and I hate it. Those things really squick me out! Yeah, I’m probably not going to go outside. But it’s so gorgeous out there… and I should.

Had meetings all day, on Zoom, Meet Up, etc. It looks like summer programming will all be virtual. My state just got another 3 week extension on lock down, which is good, not enough probably, but something. So, now I need to scramble to come up with programming that can all be done online that is engaging, valuable, accessable, etc. We’re looking at how to reach patrons who don’t have internet access. We can do mailings somehow I guess. This new world we’re in is tricky and stressful. I need to work on my stress relief. I don’t know if I will be back working in the library this summer, I don’t know if patrons will be allowed in or not, I don’t know how we can serve our patrons well if they can’t come in to use the computers and printers.

Public Libraries in rural areas like ours provide access to the internet, computers, printers, scanners, fax machines, etc. Some libraries also have 3D printers and other fancy stuff. In our area the library is often the only place some people can use computers or the internet and we get people rushing in at closing time desperate not to miss some deadline, caught between their work schedule, the bus schedule, and our hours. If they make it before we shut the computers down entirely we will try to help them, much as we like to go home at the end of the day, it usually isn’t their fault they couldn’t get to us sooner. (not that I’m super invested in “fault”) Public Libraries everywhere are a safe warm or cool space for people experiencing homelessness to go during the day. We have restrooms, clean water, sometimes even tea available for a donation. If anyone asks me what the donation is I let them know it can be any amount, if they still seem unsure I let them know there is no one policing our tea supply, the Director and staff basically donate it all. The horrid Keurig plastic pollution machine costs $1 cup for whatever one chooses; coffee, tea, cocoa, but there is no one acting as the police of that transaction either. So it’s not nothing that library doors are closed now and I wonder how we will find ways to continue to help our patrons access what they need. We don’t have a supply of loaner laptops or mobile hotspots like some other libraries do. I know we’re working on all this, I just wish I could know what’s coming, I wish I could prepare.

Will I have a job when the pandemic releases us all from our house arrest? I don’t know. I’m seeing a lot of pain coming for a LOT of people, and while I know Public Libraries are a cost-effective way to provide vital services to communities, I also know that they often end up threatened by the chopping block. So right now I am working extra hard to become the best librarian I can be. My online classes are turning me from a whimsical chick who comes up with cool crafts for the kids to do into a kickass librarian who provides more value to the tweens & teens of our community by planning programs built around specific learning outcomes. The great thing is, if I do it right, the kids will learn things that make them think and help them grow and all they’ll notice is the fun and creativity.