NIMBY

Thank goodness I have taken so many photographs over the years, a few of which have ended up on the pages of my blogs, because if I had not, there would be nothing in my studio for visitors to see. The fact that I take pictures, especially of bugs, is my new claim to fame.

Back in Greenville, I had such a great time in my natural, un-poisoned back yard searching for tiny hopping, crawling and flying things. When I found an interesting subject, I would stealthily stalk it and silently snap away with my good pocket camera until I thought I had a decent shot. Sometimes I was hot and sweaty when I came in to download the pix and see them giant sized on the computer. For me, it was a way to study cycles in nature, to be awed by smallest visible creatures, and to see the Creator's beautiful designs.

In my little patio home here, the yard is taken care of by a big company that uses chemicals to kill weeds and insects. I feel sad when I see the truck come, because I know that just to make a pretty uniform look in the neighborhood, the ecosystem is being disrupted. There is a balance of nature, and there are seasons for living things, and I watched it play out in my old back yard. It works and has worked for thousands of years.

I have been reading about the decrease in Monarch butterflies that is due to the dwindling supply of milkweed, their main source of food. Too bad. Everything is connected. I am going to have to look elsewhere for bugs to photograph, because there are not many in my new backyard.