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Babies

     Having children has to be one of life's top three pleasures (also one of life's top five annoyances).  Guiding them as they grow, watching how they navigate the wonder found in the world is a slow-burn of joy.

     In addition to one's own children, joy is found in the babies of creatures we share the world with.  If one can combine animal babies with one's own, one may have stumbled upon an alternative energy source that cannot be usurped by corporations.

     My children and I have watched infant praying mantids leave the relative safety of their egg case and venture into a world of danger, and for a fortunate few, maturation.  We've set a luna moth free that we observed from caterpillar to cocoon to adult.

     Most recently, we've watched Eastern American toad tadpoles (Bufo americanus americanus) metamorphose into tiny toadlets.
At the toad "delivery room"

It's hard to believe these tiny creatures can survive.  That's why hundreds of eggs are laid.





     Some wish their children could remain forever babies; not me, I was glad to be rid of the diaper pail.  It's much better to watch them journey from strength to strength accompanying nature's babies as well.


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