Earth to Humans, Earth to Humans. Come in.
I saw the first firefly of the season on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, 2020. Earth Day, the hope of my youth, now two generations past. I was a 13-year-old. “Earth to humans, Earth to humans – can you hear me?” Dead silence. Corona virus may be the wake-up call. But, alas, we are only human – self-aware, nature-fearing, fight or flight, instinctive creatures whose collective awareness has yet to discover the evolved functions of our large brains.
We still have a chance to awaken to the obvious — the beauty around us. Near-silent roads and sky enhance bird songs dancing on a wispy breeze. Brazen red fox pluck house cats from yards without fear. Soccer fields grow fallow. Mother Nature has given us a spectacular spring in 2020. When people from other parts of the country ask me why it is I live in the Ozarks in Arkansas, of all places, I respond that I chose to be here for our lovely long springtime and beautiful long autumn.
This year, spring has been exceptionally delightful. Usually in April we get a good week or so, as the buds unfold at the top of the deciduous trees in Ozark forests painting the hills with soft pastels of a thousand shades of green. This year, it seems that has stretched to twice the usual time, or was I simply paying closer attention?
I visited a friend’s farm in Elkins a week ago Sunday, and much to my surprise, as I walked around the property along the upper White River, I was amazed to see the same plant species blooming that I had photographed there two weeks earlier. Our native spring ephemeral wildflowers are enjoying a longer season.
In April we had delightful long spells of temperate cool air, lots of cloudy days, gentle dappled sunlight and plentiful soaking, yet not, flooding rains. Nights have remained relatively cool. The ground is soaked with moisture making for lush vegetation. It’s the perfect spring.
Will my grandchildren’s grandchildren see fireflies two generations from now? What have we learned in 50 years of environmental decline (and a doubling of the Earth’s population) since the first Earth Day? German philosopher Georg Hagel (1770-1831) provides a hint. “We learn from history that we do not learn from history.”