Mothers need babies in order to be mothers!
(1) These eggs would never have hatched had I mowed that meadow!
(2) This baby fir (dwarfed by the water bottle) will be placed into the protective "cage".
(3) This not-so-little fir, protected by a "cage" for the past year, is now shooting up very well!
(4) These 3 baby rabbits, who grew up in thick, un-mowed brush will soon be leaving their den.
Dear Fellow Earthlings, Earth is our Mother. By definition a mother must have babies! I am happy to report that on Reltonia
-- where I hope to preserve as much of nature's bounty and beauty as possible -- I am finding signs that babies are definitely here!
An empty quails' nest! Some of the shells of 12 hatched eggs are pictured! Mommy and Daddy quail
must have been happy to find a spot where no one (namely, yours truly!) had mowed the grass. Moreover, they were relieved to see that there were no marauding Eurasian cats (known in America as "domestic cats," although they are invasive to the Americas (and not at all "domestic" or indigenous!) lurking about.
I did my utmost to photograph the quail family, but they were sticklers on privacy. Suffice it to say, however, I am happy to be the proud godfather of 12 little cuties. I am sure there are also other spots around my land (Reltonia) where additional quails and other ground nesting birds are enjoying Earth's bounty.
Baby trees are coming up all over Reltonia, too. During this hot, dry time of the year, I irrigate them as needed. Not all of the little ones survive, but others are fairly shooting up! Their mothers produced them, but can use my help raising them, it seems...
Some of my trees are protected by enclosures to stave off deer and field mouse predation. These enclosures protect more than just baby trees. Here you see three beautiful bunnies who grew up in one of the enclosures. I was able to help Mother Earth -- and her helper, a certain "mother rabbit" -- raise these three beautiful bunnies!
As I was removing non-native plants from one of the enclosures, I happened upon the three siblings.
They were so scared of big, fierce looking me! But there was no cause for alarm -- I just wanted a picture!
Behold!
Steve Walker
Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.