Michael Sauers

February 20, 2025

Given the current state of affairs, I am so looking forward to Spring. Nature, the good, bad and ugly will burst out providing us with a grand diversion. Fauna and flora will be renewing itself for another six or seven month test of survival.

Survival is the fitting word as the competition and sometimes synergy of the natural world displays itself for all to see. Accepting the violence and what we perceive as cruelty allows us to appreciate the astonishing beauty and diversity of our world. We, of course, are part of nature even if we insist on being separated out of the entanglement. Violence, beauty and diversity are certainly part of the human experience.

I enjoy walking through forests, along streams and rivers, aside ridges and glens, into and out of swamps, gorges and caves. Along the way I stop, sit and listen. I breathe the scents of nature as deeply as I can as we are not nearly as proficient as most creatures. To me, all of this is renewing.

Over the years I have come upon hundreds of animals. Sometimes they come upon me. Bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, wild dogs, feral cats, skunks, opossums, porcupines, raccoons, beavers, muskrats, woodchucks, deer, snakes, rodents, frogs, toads, fish, songbirds, ground birds, raptors, amphibians, turtles, lizards, vultures, bats, insects and bugs. It is exhilarating. Their fur, body shapes, eyes, colors, skin patterns and movement are so in tune with their environment. They talk their own languages.

Habitat loss, pollution, government agencies (USDA), hunting, trapping, fishing and automobiles are threats to all wildlife. It is very important to preserve and expand green areas; forests, parks, wetlands, sanctuaries, and preserves. We must try to curb our speciesist instincts. There have been many mass extinctions and scientists believe we’re in the midst of a sixth mass extinction.

As I said, I’m really looking forward to Spring. The incessant noise of our civilization is not healthy. Problems endure, stalemate and division seem constant and solutions are difficult to envision.

So, get out there. Relax. Enjoy!