I have always loved our backyard. One of the main reasons why we bought our house was for the property - 1/2 an acre in the suburbs with mature landscaping, fruit trees, in a semi-private setting - it sounded like a place that we could experiment with and make our own. Fifteen years later, we have now had chickens for over a decade (and ducks at several points of time), the fruit trees are dying and having to be replaced, there are definitely more flowers, and the pines, spruces, aspens, and cherries have only grown taller. We have seen the following wildlife in our yard just in the past week: Red-tailed hawks, a Pileated woodpecker, Downy woodpecker, and Hairy woodpecker, two Ruby-throated hummingbirds (can't tell if they are a pair), Robins, Goldfinches, Blue Jays, House Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Carolina Wrens, male and female Cardinals, Eastern Gray squirrels, Easter Cottontail, American toads, Monarchs, Yellow Easter Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, chipmunks, and numerous pollinators including Honeybees, Common Eastern bumblebees, and Bald Faced hornets.
Our outdoor math lesson was put on hold when a toad was found in the garden. We have been reading Jane Goodall's memoir, My Life With the Chimpanzees, and I figured that nature observation was definitely a worthy activity. So for the next hour, my daughter sat on the ground, content as can be, to be hanging out with a toad. Some might claim too much COVID isolation, but I see it as a parenting high point. No screen stimulation was needed, no prompting by a parent, nothing but fascination and curiosity.
This morning she found the first large spider web of the season - it is a sign of the approaching cooler weather. I could title this image something like "Child of Wonder" or "Childhood Awe", but the real title should be "Seconds Before the Small Red Spider Menacingly Thrust Out His Front Legs and Young Child and the Mother-Photographer Jumped Back in Fright."
Keep your eyes open and notice the small wonders around you. They are there even if we don't notice.