We do have bugs and snakes. And we love that. The big old black rat snake that shows up every spring has become a marker of time for us. She's pretty docile

We do have bugs and snakes. And we love that. The big old black rat snake that shows up every spring has become a marker of time for us. She's pretty docile and friendly, she ignores us and we ignore her. The possums, groundhogs, and racoon are much the same. My niece and nephew love watching the frogs and gold fish in our pond, and exploring the many bugs that have taken up residence in our wild savannah. The mosquites were here before the transformation - they come from the scrapyard up the road - and the changes we've made have actually reduced them in the local area. We've increased the number of frogs, bats, and dragonflies to keep them under control. We don't have ticks to speak of, the possums take care of them. As for hay fever, you get that in suburbia just as bad or worse. You realize that the Yew bushes that everyone loves planting are among the worst producers of allergenic pollen, right? Again, this is part of the aesthetic change we need to make. Realizing that we are a part of and depend upon the natural environment. And figuring out how to fit ourselves into it comfortably, instead of trying to remove ourselves from it or pretend we are somehow above it or separate from it.