Nature Connection: Reconnecting With Nature

Let’s face it: winter here on Cape Cod was brutal. Freezing cold winds whipping off an ice chilled ocean anyone? There was snow and more snow and ice and more snow and more ice and, now? Mud. 

At least it is starting to get warmer. My snowdrops and crocus are blooming, birds are singing as the sun comes up, and light is reaching well past afternoon hours. Spring is here. Of course, it takes a while due to the chill of the ocean, but we’re tough. We can deal with a little raw wind and cold as long as the robins are singing and the trees are budding.

Many people I know simply stopped going outdoors over the last few months. I’m of a certain age, as are many of my friends and students, that slippery footing was reason enough to stay warm and cozy inside. Others declared they didn’t walk in the snow, and without sidewalks being cleared, there was nowhere to go.

There were plenty of folks who did get outside, though. Some got on their cross-country skis while others tried out snowshoes. Some just plodded through the snow to get to where they wanted, and others cleared areas on ponds so they could ice skate.

I’m one of those who settled somewhere between the two. I was outside a lot but also chose warmth and sure footing indoors on other days. As the snow melted, however, I found myself ready to go on long walks outside in every town I found myself in. As mentioned in previous columns, our beaches really took some dramatic hits. It’s good to remember that our coast is not concrete, that it is always in flux.

There’s a lot happening in nature right now. Spring is when everything comes alive again. That’s a misnomer because most things, plant and animal, were mostly dormant, not dead, but everywhere I look, I see and hear things starting to wake up. On an early morning walk on a day that was still quite cold I found hundreds and hundreds of worm castings along the edge of a sunny field. The worms must have been active at night, and once daylight arrived so did dozens of hungry robins. There were robins and grackles and flickers hopping about all through the field, and as I watched I heard a call that can only mean spring is really here.

When I was a child, eastern meadowlarks were a sure sign of spring. I think of them as being everywhere back in the day, but I’m sure they were mostly in the fields we played ball in. There were a lot more fields on Cape Cod when I was growing up. Most of those fields are now covered with asphalt and houses. On this day of worms and robins, however, I heard the familiar song of the meadowlark across the field. It took me a while to find him with my binoculars, but there he was, singing his heart out, his yellow and black breast bright against the dull background of grasses and leafless trees.

An eastern phoebe seems to be building a nest under the eaves of a house I pass regularly, and at the beach the piping plovers and ospreys have returned. Bald eagles and ravens are both nesting on the Cape, though the locations are not being shared so they won’t be harassed. There’s at least one peregrine falcon nest as well. It amazes me these birds have survived all the perils we humans have put in front of them, but so far they are hanging on. 

This spring, please reconsider your use of pesticides and herbicides as well as leaf blowers. Not only do leaf blowers annoy all your neighbors with their noise, but they totally destroy habitat for pollinators and other useful insects such as fireflies. Conversations with landscapers are important, and although some are beginning to change their ways, others refuse. We can refuse to hire them. There are many ways to protect our plants and also to protect ourselves from mosquitoes and ticks without poisoning ourselves, our children, our pets and our environment. Do a little homework and see what ideas will work best for you and your family.

Some people have a difficult time connecting with nature. They think bugs and salamanders are icky, that snakes will hunt them down to scare and bite them, that ants will ruin their lives and spiders deserve to die. If you know someone like this, perhaps invite them to go to one of the many nature programs available at local environmental organizations. Have a gentle conversation. Fears are real and usually come from a lack of knowledge, so be kind and understanding. If the fearful one is you, try to learn more about what you’re afraid of. It can help a lot.

My youngest daughter had a fear of wolves and sharks when she was little. Her response was to read and learn everything she could about both species and now she’s a super fan of both. She became quite knowledgeable about them and gets upset when she hears false claims about either species.

If you’ve spent most of the winter indoors, now is the time to get back outside and reconnect with nature. Take a walk, invite some friends to explore a new area or revisit an old favorite. Attend a talk, buy some native flower seeds, do a little birdwatching, or go look for whales from the beach.

It’s spring! The world around us may be crazy, but nature just keeps plugging along, offering up her best lessons as the seasons change. Don’t miss out. Spring comes and goes as quickly as the ephemeral wildflowers she is famous for.