Often we look at humanity and regard ourselves with either awe at the wonders we have achieved, or, horror at the trail of devastation that we leave in our wake.
The two can, and indeed do, go hand in hand where it comes to human ingenuity. For example, the smart phone I’m typing this on is a wonder of technology; so many functions and features in one small space… yet it’s creation necessitates the mining of vulnerable areas of the world and removal of acre upon acre of habitat, just to get the rare metals used in the battery and circuitry.
Our achievements often come at a cost to other people as well as nonhuman animals.
The Permaculture, approproate tech anc upcycling movements all look to minimise waste and even use it to create new things. Things like an eel trap or green house made from large plastic bottles, a hand powered washing machine from an old bike and a bucket and sculptures made from broken tools.
Human ingenuity can be a remarkable thing, our peasant and curious ape ancestry showing as we make knives from old files or weave rugs from damaged clothes or even make houses from mud and empty bottles or sandals from tyres.
Sometimes though it amazes me how much this connects us to the rest of the natural world. Life exploits opportunity in so many places.
The picture at the top of the page is taken deep in Badger’s Cave found in the beautiful grounds of Blarney Castle, Ireland. The lights are fitted to allow human visitors to see while inside the passage, but the moisture in the rock mixed with just enough light allows these pioneering plants to grab hold of life and flourish.
There are many times when I’ve found tadpoles or gnat larvae in water filled crisp packets that have been discarded by a lazy littering slob.
There have been a few occasions where I’ve seen either a nest in an old trainer lodged in a tree or a mouse nest in a rusty beer can.
Or even bits of plastic bags and nappies used in rat nests or bird nests.
This post was prompted by a trip to the allotment this morning. One of the greenhouses is used for all the propagation and has a small bed (mainly filled by the roots of a pink Sutton seedless grape) which houses tomatoes etc as the year progresses.
This greenhouse bed was a shambles of pots and compost and weeds.
While tidying it up I came across a stash of small bottles, the kind used for gut friendly yoghurt like Yakult. These are used as cane toppers (to save our eyes from accidental stabbings). As I gathered them up in to a larger tub one felt heavy; most likely filled with soil or something.
Based on this assumption I shook it, the contents moving back and forth inside the bottle but not coming out.
Investigation of the content revealed a pair of coppery eyes staring back at me!
A, now bruised, toad had made this spot it’s temporary shelter spot to save it from the heat of the glasshouse in the day but keep it close to the slugs and woodlice enticed by the leafy contents of the glasshouse, upon which it could gorge as the mood took it.
Obviously I like my toad allies in the vegetable garden and so left the container, toad and all, under the grape vine and surrounded by damp soil.
There have been toads in all the greenhouses for many years now, generations of amphibians making the most of a long feeding season. Some tiads come back year after year – one was a green house resident for at least six years.
Even something as small as a Yakult style bottle has a use to some little critter. Ingenuity isn’t merely a human trait … though I’ve yet to see a toad using an android device!
Druid of Manannan 