Encounters

It is never easy to suddenly grasp our occasional encounter with wildlife. Often we are amazed at what we see, perhaps because we consciously distance ourselves from our wilderness experience [as mammals]. As a result most people are unable to "find the words" to reflect upon their encounters not to mention their larger impact as [we] collectively build more houses, roads, stores, malls, offices, et al. It is in the this context that some of us really struggle when we unintentionally injure or cause the death of a creature. At some level, we confront the larger impact we know we cannot stop and at once identify with the reality of this thing called "progress".

Perhaps the link is not consciously made but it is felt. And for us (you and me and a few others), it is momentarily painful. We are able to empathize to some extent. I have had a number of similar experiences in recent weeks with birds in the barn, bees & wasps or hornets in the attic and a rabbit nest I hit while mowing weeds with the field & brush mower. There was 1 casualty out of 3 or 4 babies. It was intact but lifeless with a bloody nose. I buried it under the nearby tree just to keep the flies away from the living babies still under the nest. That accident just ruined the rest of my afternoon. I stopped mowing until another day.

As for the birds, we did the best we could. The robins and I had a neighborly argument which had me evicting their messy nests from my barn although after 4 attempts, one finally succeeded in building and laying. So we coexisted
until the 3-4 hatchlings left the nest.

Infact, there was one that was learning to fly who was stuck running around inside the barn. I had the doors open and could hear mama just makng all kinds of noise in the
tree while I was trying to get the hatchling out so in the pot shed and though I let it stay because by the time I discovered the nest, it had eggs, one egg fell, one hatchling fell and died and judging from mama's erratic flight patterns and behaviors in my presence, I can assume she was not a happy bird.

As for the insects, I was installing an attic exhaust fan in the attic eaves and there were nests. It was very hot up there and the space was tight. If they got agitated, I would have no quick and effective escape. I was hammering and drilling and moving the fan to fit in the vent. I had to eliminate the active nests so that I could work.

I don't mind the wildlife but I do get a little annoyed when my house is used as nesting grounds for everything above and below ground. If I reflect though on my opening comments here, perhaps I can relate now to what it feels like to have one's habitat compromised or lost entirely.

Scott Carter