Category Archives: ANIMALS

WHILE I WAS AWAY

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Kit Troyer

As I got ready to leave town for 10 days, I worried about the baby hummingbirds near my porch. I had watched them each day as they began to move around and make noise and ask their mother for food. … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, CHILD REARING, DUMB SHIT I'VE DONE, SPIRIT | 26 Comments

HUMMINGBIRDS AND BEETLES

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Kit Troyer

I almost made a catastrophic error yesterday with the hummingbird nest. As far as I could tell, the mother had vanished three days earlier. She was no longer sitting on her eggs, she wasn’t feeding any new hatchlings. She was … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, SPIRIT | 21 Comments

BACKYARD MYSTERY

Posted on March 3, 2022 by Kit Troyer

One springtime years ago, when my children were young and life was hectic, a small domestic mystery nagged at me for two or three weeks. Sometimes when I entered my backyard through a side gate, I would hear a sudden … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, CHILD REARING, SPIRIT | 22 Comments

CLOVER MITES

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Kit Troyer

The following conversation was edited for clarity. KIT: Thank you so much for reaching out. CLOVER MITE: Yeah the ‘red microspider’ thing was unfortunate. We were kind of shaking our heads about that one. KIT: I’m so sorry. But I … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS | 15 Comments

MY DESERT-ISLAND CHORE

Posted on February 19, 2022 by Kit Troyer

My wife likes doing laundry. It’s a welcome break from her day job, which tends to be demanding, highly social, draining. Doing laundry, on the other hand, is quiet and solitary, the clothes warm and fragrant when she pulls them … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, SELF HELP, SPIRIT | 26 Comments

CONVERSATION WITH A SPIDER

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Kit Troyer

I always feel pretty good about myself when I relocate a spider from the house to the garden. But the experience probably feels different for the spider. If the two of us could talk, the conversation might go like this: … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS | 32 Comments

BEE LIFEGUARD

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Kit Troyer

From time to time I check the swimming pool to see whether any bees have fallen in. If I find one, I scoop it out using my hand, a leaf, or — if the bee is in the middle of … Continue reading →

Posted in ANIMALS, SPIRIT | 48 Comments