Nature Connection: A Time To Preserve

The other day I was with a group of people I’ve known for many, many years who also grew up here on Cape Cod. One remarked that the beginning of August always made them sad because it signaled the beginning of the end of summer. We all laughed, but having just seen a shop full of Halloween decorations in July, I knew she was right. 

As a society we always seem to be moving ahead to the next season while still firmly in the present one. There’s still plenty of summer left. I, for one, vote for preserving what’s left of summer every day and ignoring the marketing that would have us sipping pumpkin spiced everything before the sweet corn is even done ripening.

August is a month of savoring and gathering. It is a time of harvesting, drying and preserving. Many of us of a certain age grew up making jams, jellies, pickles and sauces. We learned how to dry herbs and how to freeze the extra beans we grew in our gardens. Having grown up with parents and grandparents who lived through world wars and the Great Depression of the 1930s, we learned to save and put away for the future, which in their eyes and experience was uncertain at best.

Humans are not alone in this. Birds are molting and filling up on fat-rich foods which will give them the energy to migrate or to remain for the winter. Plants are putting forth seeds, nuts, berries and fruits to ensure the future of their species. Insects are mating, laying eggs and making the most of warm days and nights. Some will pupate in cocoons or chrysalises and either emerge soon or make it through the winter to emerge in spring. Fish fry, tiny fish born this year, will eat and grow in remarkable ways, hoping to make it through the many booby traps that would be their demise, whether those be bigger fish or hungry birds.

If you have a native garden full of pollinator plants, please leave them as they go to seed. They may not be as beautiful, but you will soon be visited by colorful birds such as goldfinches who will be grateful for the seed banquet. Various insects will lay their eggs in the stems as well. These won’t hatch until next spring so please leave them standing. Not only is this good for the insects but also the birds that will be looking for sustenance once winter sets in. Those same insects and spiders will provide good food for them.

If you’ve been feeding young orioles and catbirds, you have probably noticed that your feeder now attracts more bees than birds. I have taken mine down, cleaned it out and put it away for another year. The catbirds may look annoyed, but to be fair, they have returned to eating insects and wild berries which are in profusion now.

If you are interested in feeding birds year-round without a feeder, check out local shrubs and trees that support them. By adding one or two each year you will create a wonderful habitat that welcomes wildlife.

These days the assaults on wildlife and their habitats are relentless, so doing what we can to preserve even our small neighborhood areas can be helpful. It won’t solve all our problems, but it will be better than doing nothing. Talk to your friends and neighbors about the effects of poisons and fertilizers, reminding them that organic does not mean harmless. Most of our strongest poisons as well as medicines are organic, after all. Share your concerns about water management and providing nutrients for bees and birds naturally. 

Our droughts of the last few years have not been as dramatic as those out west, but since we have a single-source aquifer here on Cape Cod, we need to pay attention and preserve the fresh water we have. Often this means not watering lawns or decorative gardens, at least on a daily basis as some would prefer. 

I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that my native gardens and shrubs need very little water, especially as they become more established. This is in direct contrast to those few annuals I plant that can be drama queens if they are not watered regularly. My response has been to plant fewer of those and more herbs, most of which are pleasantly happy and productive in dry times. I also have a green lawn, but don’t look too closely if you’re a lawn purist because mine is full of a variety of natural bunny food plants. This works to keep the neighborhood rabbits out of my other gardens every year and needs no maintenance but mowing now and then.

In a time when so much is changing and is being discarded, disallowed and blatantly disrespected, it is good to contemplate the ways nature deals with these things. She makes sure there is plenty to spread around, though she knows not everything will be able to thrive. She reinvents, repairs and responds in ways that make sense. Her goal is preservation, and every species has that desire for preservation written into its DNA code. Survival. It’s what motivates all of us in one way or another.

We humans are in a rare and unprecedented time. We can choose to continue to destroy our planet, or we can reconfigure and try to preserve what’s left. It’s up to you and me, folks. This is not a time to sit back and hope someone else shows up to do the work. What we don’t preserve will be lost forever.