Naming nature

I am beginning to feel the effects of the flora and fauna course I am taking. I can't look at a patch of moss without wondering which moss it is, and I want to know the names of all the birds I see. As spring is coming on and nature wakes up, I become more and more interested in it.

Common Goldeneye pair

The last couple of weeks, as I have looked out of my window while eating breakfast, I have seen some black and white ducks on the river. They would dive suddenly and come up again like a floatation device.  It was nice to have the company on the dreary mornings, but I wanted more. I wanted to label them. Today, I walked home from University and saw them closer up. I found out what they were, finally: Common Goldeneye - or in Norwegian, Kvinand.

Somehow, knowing this doesn't destroy the joy and magic of nature. I will still love having them for company in the mornings, maybe even more, because now that I have a name for them, they'll almost be like friends.

Learning these things about nature - not only the names of things, but also the internal and external structure of plants and animals, their life cycles, their preferred food and their habitat - makes me appreciate nature that I see all around me all the more. Now that I know a little bit of how amazing it is, I can be awestruck every time I see a patch of moss or a little sparrow. I think that is wonderful. I am looking very much forward to the spring coming for real and seeing nature alive and vibrant again.