Ekphrasis: Underappreciated Nature Edition
"I miss the birds. // but it's truer that you ache / for their song. the score that lured / seeds of luster into bloom." - Ariana Benson, "Aubade After Earth"
Welcome to the last in this current crop of Ekphrasis—that’s right, I do try to keep this blog fresh and interesting, even if I’m complaining about summer time constraints. These ekphrasis blogs are a fun change of pace for me to write, though, like when Cracked had me doing listicles more than articles. I hope they’re fun for you to read.
Previous Entries: Grill Food | Lake Fish | Guitars | Herons | Haunted House | Ghost | Crabs | Original
Poison Dart Frogs
Wanted to pick a reptile, because without being a Reptile Guy, I love these cold-blooded little ornaments. We’re probably around the corner from a theocracy here in the U.S., and I grew up fighting with my idiot Youth Pastor about how evolution is real, so I don’t wanna make intelligent design jokes. HOWEVER, it rules that these adorable little hoppers evolved protection from predators that also involved really sick aesthetics. What a mutually beneficial evolutionary development! There is beauty all around you if you care to look for it. Look with your eyes, though.
Plankton
The immediate association with plankton is “what whales eat.” Turns out, plankton is a little more complex than a humpback’s breakfast. There’s zooplankton, phytoplankton, microplankton, mesoplankton—probably more if I could remember The Death and Life Of The Great Lakes or the Field Museum’s Deep Oceans exhibit better. That Field Museum exhibit (which I’ll write about soon) is where I learned that plankton are often larvae of bigger fish. That’s one of them “aw hell I shoulda figured that” facts. Hey, speaking of stuff I should’ve known earlier:
Pumpkin Plants
Where did I think pumpkins come from? The ground, at least. I had no idea how big their plants got. Look at that thing! That’s like 1/6th of my porch. And being honest? It rules. City living is the best, but I wanna sorta feel like I’m at risk of being overrun but plants if possible. Pumpkin plants on the porch do that. They also have beautiful flowers that only live for one day. Great reminder to appreciate every nice-weather day—tomorrow, the pumpkin flower won’t be there.
Cross your fingers for us that this actually grows a pumpkin.
Hey, speaking of houseplants:
Snake Plants In The Wild
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The Instagram algo—one of the most destructive forces in contemporary society—served me a great collage recently of house plants in the wild. They were beautiful! Amazing to see in a different context. We’ve got a lot of house plants, which is a way of saying Mallory has put plants in our house and takes care of them while I hoot and holler and shout about what a good mood they put me in. One of my favorites, which I didn’t really appreciate until recently, is the snake plant. Got a bummer after that lede though. Turns out, it’s really difficult to find a picture of Sansevieria trifasciata in the wild that conveys exactly how I felt looking an Instagram post on Wikimedia Commons, but I thought one where the plant that’s normally next to the end table is sprouting fruit would be thought-provoking. Someone decided just one or two of those would look nice in a pot on the porch, and what a genius they were.
Centipedes
These guys are wonderful! They may look like a thousand and one nightmares, but they are eating the spiders and roaches that would otherwise infest your house. Love a centipede! Say thank you next time you see one. Name it, even.
Sorry you got an email,
Chris
didn't know that about plankton. centipedes are deadly to cats, so they're one of the few animals i kill. plus spiders are handy to have around.