I love them.
In this area, they are also hunted. Eastern cicada-killer wasps patrol our yard. We see two or three buzzing around every year. As the name suggests, they prey on cicadas. These are big wasps, though thankfully, they tend to have little interest in humans. They are ground dwellers, so we’ve noted where they nest and avoid it. (Jerry said. “Look up ‘dangerous wasps’ in Illinois.” I said, “It’ll just come up with a church enclave.”)
I tend to love this lumbering wasp as well.
And yesterday, as we were arriving home after a morning appointment, two hummingbirds were having a spat by the garage, and as it opened, they seemed confused over the new territory to battle over. There was a lot of zooming in and out before they zipped away.
The dragonflies are always about, as there are several ponds and a creek close by. And now quite a few butterflies are enjoying the cooler weather. So, there is no lack of winged creatures about.
Today I had to go to the post office, and at the corner of Third and Vine, a youngish fox was calmly working an itch. I’ve seen foxes several times in town, sometimes in our yard, but this scratch and saunter mid-morning was surprising. She would have stayed quiet in the street except that people were walking toward her, and we were all delighted by the sight.
I think the fox may have been out later in the morning as the weather broke, and it was cool this morning. We opened the windows at the house, and it popped like champagne. Ahh! This won’t be the end of the heat, but it is a welcome break.
At least the natural world makes sense. It builds no concentration camps that once built will need to be filled; if one group is gone, we’ll move on to the next. “First they came for…” *
This is inspired by a prompt years ago.
The picture is buried deep in sports, past women’s basketball, but there, right where stats end and the hunting and fishing report begins: my cabin. Thirty years since I’ve been there, thirty years since I woke to elk grazing, meandering down toward the lake. Thirty years since the bear pushed his body through the window and stared me down. Thirty years since you said I can’t live like this, and we went.
We drifted like wolves for better hunting, following the herd of our friends into the city. Gentrified and controlled, we left behind the wolverine, owl, and fox. You changed your scent, your stride, your DNA. I watched you evolve, when there was nothing left of your wildness, you left me too. Set loose, where plate glass canyons reflected eyes void of living, I drifted, worked late night jobs, doing repetitive, quiet tasks. Anywhere I could find that had me away from crowds, numb and night-blind, I got on like a zoo animal. Thirty years pacing the concrete, shadow in the moonlight, trackless in the city. Then today you called, said Meet me at Beck’s, have a beer. How could I know you, how could you know me? We’re not the same animals, not the same creatures that came out of the woods, slender and shy.
I saw the cabin before you came, looked at the day becoming night, slipped out the door. I’ve got to find a high trail.