We have written on our our blog before that large animals in the suburban environment are few and far between. In my neighborhood, a half hour outside of Washington, D.C., we routinely see deer and fox but sightings of larger animals are rare though not unheard of. Two weeks ago a neighbor sighted a black bear on our street and earlier in the year I saw a coyote trotting around a nearby lake but these encounters are unusual. That’s probably for the best.
Encounters with smaller creatures are much more common so I take every opportunity to embrace those meetings and make the most out of them. Even the smallest of insects and spiders found on the window sill can lead to questions like: What do you think it eats? What role do you think it plays in our eco-system? What would happen if this animal was not around?
I’ll take what I can get from teachable moments with my children and make the most of every opportunity. I try to make the point that all forms of life play a role on this planet no matter how small they may be. I believe this seed has taken root with my children as I have noticed them point out and get closer to bugs, curious about them rather than shrieking or immediately trying to kill them. They want to know what a particular bug is called, is it an insect or a spider, what does it eat? In our world, largely devoid of large animals. it’s the little ones that make the difference.
the suburban naturalists 