Symbiosis ain’t what it used to be.
When the neon-and-concrete jungles crash-landed on all the ponds and tall grasses it seems like one lanky species just stomped all the others away.
Since then, is it just me or does it sometimes get lonely living in the big city? I miss the days when wild horses woke you up in the morning, buffalo slept under your porch, and upside-down possums waved goodbye when you went to work.
Now it’s just people, people, people, everywhere.
That’s why I was surprised this morning when I saw a bunch of tiny birds picking away mindlessly on crumbs and pebbles on the speedy on-ramp between two highways. Wedged between billboards, broken bottles, and glass towers, these guys didn’t have a care in the world. They were just gutsy city animals doing their thing.
Yes, I say it’s refreshing when wild animals pop into city life because it reminds us this isn’t our home — we just live here. Earth’s been spinning longer without our glass doors and liquor stores so let’s give props to city animals gutsy enough to bunk with us.
Squirrels darting between delivery trucks, pigeons wandering across park pathways, and even raccoons fist-fighting your dog for chicken bones all help remind us our paved parking paradise can still create a rich world where we aren’t the only ones doing the living.
Canada Goose, go ahead and lay your eggs behind the grocery store.
Seagull, squawk and swoop through the downtown core.
Armadillo, walk across the street even slower.
We’re just glad you’re here.
AWESOME!
— Email message —
“My family and friends absolutely LOVE your ‘AWESOME’ books! When friends come to hang out they never listen to what I’m saying, or watch the movie we are supposed to be watching, because they are always hunched over the coffee table reading your books. So much so, that I had to buy your books for them all. Then I took a Book of Awesome to the seniors home where I work, and read it to the seniors. Then my daughter took a book to school and never brought it back because the school is reading it. So now our family is writing our own personal Book of Awesome which friends are now contributing to. Here’s to awesomeness and an end to all things negative! From left to right we are: Andy, Julianne, Jonathan, Anne, Stuart and Kimberley. Hey, that could be another ‘awesome’ idea…. “When everybody looks at the camera and smiles at the same time!” – Anne
Photo from: here