On this rainy day in late November, I'm peering through a window at a drizzled up, fog-like specter of life outside our comfortably warm Kentucky abode. Robins, so carefully disguised as to be almost unseen, rustle up some fallen leaves. Sometimes, that's all we see - just the fluffing up of leaves. When we do detect the Robins, it looks as if they are re-decorating our "yarden", as we have chosen to "leave the leaves" or move them as mulch for newly planted native trees and shrubs. Honestly, these delightful moments, in synch with the evolutionary characteristics and behaviors of our resident birds, trump the activity around "bird feeders" any day of the week. Not only do we leave the leaves where they fall, but we have never had need for alternative bird feeders. The seeds in them do not come close to meeting the seasonal challenges that our wildlife have grown up with over time. What DOES meet the seasonal challenges is the planting of regionally native plants, shrubs, and trees. Our wildlife knows exactly when these species go to seed and depend on them. They grew up with them, so to speak! The caterpillars that our birds may feast on in the Spring are overwintering in leaves that we DO NOT remove or mow. The leaves are sheltering so many other small critters that go undetected, but are SO important for the ecosystem in which we live. Everything we try to do here in our humble Kentucky Native plants sanctuary is intentionally designed to cooperate with the ecosystem as it has developed over time. We do not want to dominate nature, but to cooperate and to co-exist. We would like very much for that attitude to extend to human beings. I do not want to determine who or what you decide to be or do, but to share a context of native plants gardening that is for the highest good, for everyone. For more information and to join our community's journey with native plant swaps, please consider ordering the book Let the Earth Breathe.
Anne Milligan (with Stephen Brown)
November 21, 2021
