Our house had a lot next door which was vacant until I was in high school. During the summers the lot was covered with morning glories. I loved to go in the cool mornings to the middle of the lot and sit very still and watch the bees and bumblebees going from flower to flower. It never occurred to me to be frightened of the bees and bumblebees. They were obviously too busy to be interested in me. Occasionally I would see a little green grass snake but it was always gone too quickly for observation. There were lots of grasshoppers too but they didn't hold my interest like the bees did. We had a big honeysuckle vine on the back fence and there were lots of bees there too but only sitting right among the morning glories could I really watch and be part of their world.
There must have been ants in that sandy soil but I don't remember them.
Another thing I loved to observe was clouds. On hot summer afternoons before air conditioning, I would take a quilt out under the big tallow tree at the back of the house. I would take a couple of books too but what I would actually do is lay on my back and look up through the leaves and watch the clouds.
I still love to watch the bees on my salvia plants and I still love to look up through the big old oak trees and watch the clouds. Both make me feel part of real things.
