We have a garden with large Green Tree Frogs - gorgeous emerald amphibians with huge eyes and a very gentle disposition (as long you aren't an insect). They roam around at night looking for food, but by daybreak they have all found places to hide - from the sun and from Monty the Diamond Python, and from the gang of Water Dragon lizards which patrol the river bank all day.
Several very clever froggies have worked out how to climb up under our vehicle, in the shady carport, and from there get into the narrow cavity under the tailgate. Totally invisible, shaded, and safe, our froggy mates happily sleep the day away there, and most days our vehicle doesn't go anywhere so it's a perfect solution.
However, we when DO need to go out - as I did today, for the 20km drive to the nearest town to get food - we have to remember to open the back hatch of the vehicle, locate the frog (and sometimes several of them) and carefully pick them up and place them in a dark damp spot in the undergrowth nearby - because a frog in a car shaped metal box in our Summer sun would quickly become a baked frog.
I think the record - a year or 2 back - was 11 frogs all huddled up together and needing to be relocated. I have a photo somewhere.
Last week I forgot to check - reached town, stopped to have a look, and there was a happy green tree frog looking back at me. SO then I had to drive around the block to find a shady place under a tree, where I could park the car without it becoming a frog oven...
In my 20s my partner was a vet tech in a rural area where she mostly called on cows. One day a very pregnant stray cat was brought in barely alive after being hit by a car. She died but they were able to deliver her premature kittens and keep them warm. Within a day all but one had died. She brought it home in a blanket lined box and I spent a good month waking every few hours and feeding her with an eye dropper. That cat lived to be almost 20 and was as mean as a rattlesnake.
Isn't there? I didn't mention she was adorable and topped out at 5 pounds. She swaggered around always ready to bite or scratch. A devil the size of a loaf of bread.
I notice my "eco-depression" is getting heavier. I am thinking and writing about how we can have more "democracy". I don't believe the policies our governments are implementing are reflective of the general population's views.
Your "rescue" of the mouse pup raises all manner of difficult questions that are beyond a quick comment. Thanks for such provocative writing Rebecca!
Same here Baird - sometimes it feels like we're moving backwards, even though the population in general are - I think - becoming more eco-conscious. And yes about the ethical issues the mouse-saving raises. I try to act in a way that decreases suffering, and I think that mouse would just have died and been flattened on the road, rather than being eaten, so I didn't hesitate to save it. Another time, I almost flung myself out of a car to take a slow worm from a hunting magpie (the slow worm was trying to escape across the road) and I had to stop myself. That's just the natural cycle of things. It's hard to draw a line, and stick to it.
We do all need to hear this right now. I know that I do Rebecca. Thank you for sharing these stories of kindness. Thank you for sharing words of hope and words of encouragement that all is not lost. Each day I read words like this, here, and I am encouraged that there might be a way for us to not destroy every piece of beauty that exist, that perhaps, the power of this collective mass of caring and kindness might rival the disregard and active abuse of the few.
Oh I hope so Emily - substack has been such a balm in terms of reminding me that many people are gentle and caring and motivated to protect the planet. We're just quieter, but collectively we roar x
How lovely this is, Rebecca! I am sitting here teary-eyed and open-hearted at these acts of kindness and care. What a beautiful sight, the seal ballerina. Thank you for reminding us about the compassion of humans. x
This one had me crying and feeling everything with the emotions and memories it evoked. To know a kindred spirit is a wonderful feeling, and I spent my entire childhood bringing home strays, and abandoned or injured wildlife. My Dad would heave a big sigh, and set to work straightaway helping. He ended up with two children like this, my sister and I. Last week, my young daughter and I stopped and helped a baby bird which had fallen from her nest and was laying on the footpath injured, and so the cycle and love continues to the next generation. The world needs more kindness, for kindness is the way we will start to heal the world. Thank you for such a wonderfully thought provoking piece.
Hello kindred spirit! And how lovely that your daughter (through you) is taking that cycle forwards - how many little lives might be saved generation after generation because of that caring nature being nurtured x
I remember as a child finding a beautiful caterpillar in the forest near our house and taking it to my mum (a biology teacher) for identification. We looked through some books and found a match and then she told me I had to return it exactly to where I found it. Which I did, but I also told a bunch of kids who were wondering what I had. This was a mistake. Half an hour later one of them came and told me with a vicious grin that they had squished my ‘stupid maggot’ under their foot. I ran home crying and my mum went out, furious, and treated the kid to a proper ecological rant. I still remember how upset I was that someone would kill a living thing just because they could. It feels as wrong now as I felt then. We must be careful with our power. That’s our real power - the wisdom to do better and know our place.
Oh Anna that's such a heartbreaking story. It reminds me of the gangs of boys on the school playground who would catch crane flies and pull all their legs and wings off so they were just helpless blobs. It baffles me that some can treat other creatures this way - but I think it is part of a much larger problem of lack of education and understanding, at least in many cases. At least, I hope that is the root cause, because at least then there are ways to try to fix it.
I love your last line. I agree, that is our power - knowledge, the desire to do better, and an understanding of our place in the world.
A few houses away on our street two children live with their grandmother. They started showing up in our yard, playing with our kids several years ago -- and sad to say they were not always nice children. They picked fights, left trash in our yard, took our children's things, didn't say please and thank you. I was never mean or anything, but I didn't really love them coming round. I often had to step in to try to make peace. The grandmother has shown up at my door calling my child a bully after he was defending himself over the boy's attack. But over time they've settled and grown more mature and have become much less unpleasant. But still, first impressions. I didn't really like them much.
Then this past summer the girl told me that her brother had rescued a baby bird. I told her that likely the bird was a fledgling and the parents were looking after it and they should put it back where they found it. But she insisted the parents weren't around. And also her brother was in love with this baby bird. I shrugged, having dispensed my advice, and braced myself to learn of the baby bird's death. Oh well, they will learn a hard lesson, I thought.
But I was touched at what the boy's sister had said about him: He was really in love with this little bird he'd rescued. He couldn't give it up. This wild boy who fought my boys, who was constantly bickering with his sister... he had a tender heart for wild things.
Amazingly the baby bird didn't die and the children let it go after a few days or a week. Maybe it's flying around the neighborhood now. Or maybe it's flown away for the winter and will be coming back soon.
What a tender story, Melanie. I have always thought that how a person treats a vulnerable animal is such a good litmus test for their heart. It sounds like this boy has good bones.
It’s good to be reminded of even the smallest acts of kindness. Thank you, for trying. And serious kudos to your neighbour for persevering to catch the feral kitty. It would be so easy (for some) to judge the merits of species in terms of their impact, but ‘carers’ don’t discriminate.
Yes I was amazed at his perseverance! It certainly was not easy. And totally agree RE species discrimination. I think those who rescue all animals are concerned with decreasing suffering, any suffering, not impact or utility or whatever else. Maybe a bit more of a deontological view of things than utilitarian.
Recognizing small acts of kindness is what is holding me together. All of the small acts collected together make a difference in our fragile world. Thank you for putting together this series. I need more than one uplifting story to lighten the heaviness in my heart. I'm here for the new born mouse, the feral cat, the entangled whale. I've been thinking a lot about the metta prayer/meditation- May all beings be free from suffering. May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be happy.
Thank you so much for reading, Katrina, I'm so glad these pieces found you when you needed them. And thank you for bringing that prayer to me. They are words to live by.
We had a similar experience with a baby mouse. Despite our best efforts it didn’t thrive and died after a few days. So tiny and the thread of life so delicate.
Beautiful, Rebecca....
We have a garden with large Green Tree Frogs - gorgeous emerald amphibians with huge eyes and a very gentle disposition (as long you aren't an insect). They roam around at night looking for food, but by daybreak they have all found places to hide - from the sun and from Monty the Diamond Python, and from the gang of Water Dragon lizards which patrol the river bank all day.
Several very clever froggies have worked out how to climb up under our vehicle, in the shady carport, and from there get into the narrow cavity under the tailgate. Totally invisible, shaded, and safe, our froggy mates happily sleep the day away there, and most days our vehicle doesn't go anywhere so it's a perfect solution.
However, we when DO need to go out - as I did today, for the 20km drive to the nearest town to get food - we have to remember to open the back hatch of the vehicle, locate the frog (and sometimes several of them) and carefully pick them up and place them in a dark damp spot in the undergrowth nearby - because a frog in a car shaped metal box in our Summer sun would quickly become a baked frog.
I think the record - a year or 2 back - was 11 frogs all huddled up together and needing to be relocated. I have a photo somewhere.
Last week I forgot to check - reached town, stopped to have a look, and there was a happy green tree frog looking back at me. SO then I had to drive around the block to find a shady place under a tree, where I could park the car without it becoming a frog oven...
Oh I love this story Dave! What lucky frogs to have found themselves in the car of such a caring human.
In my 20s my partner was a vet tech in a rural area where she mostly called on cows. One day a very pregnant stray cat was brought in barely alive after being hit by a car. She died but they were able to deliver her premature kittens and keep them warm. Within a day all but one had died. She brought it home in a blanket lined box and I spent a good month waking every few hours and feeding her with an eye dropper. That cat lived to be almost 20 and was as mean as a rattlesnake.
There's something accidentally heartwarming about a rescued kitten that lives to be 20 and manages to be a jerk about it the entire time.
Isn't there? I didn't mention she was adorable and topped out at 5 pounds. She swaggered around always ready to bite or scratch. A devil the size of a loaf of bread.
"As mean as a rattlesnake"!!! This made me laugh out loud. A brilliant end to a heartwarming story. I'm glad she had two decades to spread her spite.
You had me at "silhouette pirouette"! 👏
I notice my "eco-depression" is getting heavier. I am thinking and writing about how we can have more "democracy". I don't believe the policies our governments are implementing are reflective of the general population's views.
Your "rescue" of the mouse pup raises all manner of difficult questions that are beyond a quick comment. Thanks for such provocative writing Rebecca!
Same here Baird - sometimes it feels like we're moving backwards, even though the population in general are - I think - becoming more eco-conscious. And yes about the ethical issues the mouse-saving raises. I try to act in a way that decreases suffering, and I think that mouse would just have died and been flattened on the road, rather than being eaten, so I didn't hesitate to save it. Another time, I almost flung myself out of a car to take a slow worm from a hunting magpie (the slow worm was trying to escape across the road) and I had to stop myself. That's just the natural cycle of things. It's hard to draw a line, and stick to it.
I'll go with the person with benevolent intentions every time!
We do all need to hear this right now. I know that I do Rebecca. Thank you for sharing these stories of kindness. Thank you for sharing words of hope and words of encouragement that all is not lost. Each day I read words like this, here, and I am encouraged that there might be a way for us to not destroy every piece of beauty that exist, that perhaps, the power of this collective mass of caring and kindness might rival the disregard and active abuse of the few.
Oh I hope so Emily - substack has been such a balm in terms of reminding me that many people are gentle and caring and motivated to protect the planet. We're just quieter, but collectively we roar x
How lovely this is, Rebecca! I am sitting here teary-eyed and open-hearted at these acts of kindness and care. What a beautiful sight, the seal ballerina. Thank you for reminding us about the compassion of humans. x
I'm so glad it resonated with you Carmine! Thank you for the lovely comment x
Thank you so much for this litany of kindnesses. A tremendous balm in these days.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Meg, thank you for the lovely comment.
This one had me crying and feeling everything with the emotions and memories it evoked. To know a kindred spirit is a wonderful feeling, and I spent my entire childhood bringing home strays, and abandoned or injured wildlife. My Dad would heave a big sigh, and set to work straightaway helping. He ended up with two children like this, my sister and I. Last week, my young daughter and I stopped and helped a baby bird which had fallen from her nest and was laying on the footpath injured, and so the cycle and love continues to the next generation. The world needs more kindness, for kindness is the way we will start to heal the world. Thank you for such a wonderfully thought provoking piece.
Hello kindred spirit! And how lovely that your daughter (through you) is taking that cycle forwards - how many little lives might be saved generation after generation because of that caring nature being nurtured x
I remember as a child finding a beautiful caterpillar in the forest near our house and taking it to my mum (a biology teacher) for identification. We looked through some books and found a match and then she told me I had to return it exactly to where I found it. Which I did, but I also told a bunch of kids who were wondering what I had. This was a mistake. Half an hour later one of them came and told me with a vicious grin that they had squished my ‘stupid maggot’ under their foot. I ran home crying and my mum went out, furious, and treated the kid to a proper ecological rant. I still remember how upset I was that someone would kill a living thing just because they could. It feels as wrong now as I felt then. We must be careful with our power. That’s our real power - the wisdom to do better and know our place.
Oh Anna that's such a heartbreaking story. It reminds me of the gangs of boys on the school playground who would catch crane flies and pull all their legs and wings off so they were just helpless blobs. It baffles me that some can treat other creatures this way - but I think it is part of a much larger problem of lack of education and understanding, at least in many cases. At least, I hope that is the root cause, because at least then there are ways to try to fix it.
I love your last line. I agree, that is our power - knowledge, the desire to do better, and an understanding of our place in the world.
Turkey
She woke me
with a plaintive cry
Help me
Help me
TURKEY
She was trapped
inside the fence
running back and forth
confused
Forgetting to look up
unable to remember
She has wings
I opened the window
and shouted at her—
Suddenly shaken
into awareness
She looked skyward
lifted her substantial body
on her strong wings
and flew out
Sometimes
all we need
is a little encouragement
to realize our own strength
What a lovely poem, and a lovely sentiment! Thank you so much for sharing it here, Bonnie. I really love these lines:
She looked skyward / lifted her substantial body / on her strong wings
Thank you, Rebecca…the animals have so much to teach us as you know.
A few houses away on our street two children live with their grandmother. They started showing up in our yard, playing with our kids several years ago -- and sad to say they were not always nice children. They picked fights, left trash in our yard, took our children's things, didn't say please and thank you. I was never mean or anything, but I didn't really love them coming round. I often had to step in to try to make peace. The grandmother has shown up at my door calling my child a bully after he was defending himself over the boy's attack. But over time they've settled and grown more mature and have become much less unpleasant. But still, first impressions. I didn't really like them much.
Then this past summer the girl told me that her brother had rescued a baby bird. I told her that likely the bird was a fledgling and the parents were looking after it and they should put it back where they found it. But she insisted the parents weren't around. And also her brother was in love with this baby bird. I shrugged, having dispensed my advice, and braced myself to learn of the baby bird's death. Oh well, they will learn a hard lesson, I thought.
But I was touched at what the boy's sister had said about him: He was really in love with this little bird he'd rescued. He couldn't give it up. This wild boy who fought my boys, who was constantly bickering with his sister... he had a tender heart for wild things.
Amazingly the baby bird didn't die and the children let it go after a few days or a week. Maybe it's flying around the neighborhood now. Or maybe it's flown away for the winter and will be coming back soon.
What a tender story, Melanie. I have always thought that how a person treats a vulnerable animal is such a good litmus test for their heart. It sounds like this boy has good bones.
It’s good to be reminded of even the smallest acts of kindness. Thank you, for trying. And serious kudos to your neighbour for persevering to catch the feral kitty. It would be so easy (for some) to judge the merits of species in terms of their impact, but ‘carers’ don’t discriminate.
Yes I was amazed at his perseverance! It certainly was not easy. And totally agree RE species discrimination. I think those who rescue all animals are concerned with decreasing suffering, any suffering, not impact or utility or whatever else. Maybe a bit more of a deontological view of things than utilitarian.
Recognizing small acts of kindness is what is holding me together. All of the small acts collected together make a difference in our fragile world. Thank you for putting together this series. I need more than one uplifting story to lighten the heaviness in my heart. I'm here for the new born mouse, the feral cat, the entangled whale. I've been thinking a lot about the metta prayer/meditation- May all beings be free from suffering. May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be happy.
Thank you so much for reading, Katrina, I'm so glad these pieces found you when you needed them. And thank you for bringing that prayer to me. They are words to live by.
Moving, the right, succinct choices of important words.
Thank you, John!
We had a similar experience with a baby mouse. Despite our best efforts it didn’t thrive and died after a few days. So tiny and the thread of life so delicate.
It is, isn't it? But we try to do what we can - and I'm so glad you tried!
thank you for the reminder that even tiny beautiful things are profoundly powerful, too.
Thank you for this lovely comment, Leslie x
Thank you for these moments of kindness.