Text/Ye Xiaohe
As we all know, the cuckoo bird secretly puts its eggs in other nests in a foster way, and lets other birds help it hatch, and its eggs are usually the first to hatch. When the chicks come out, they will push other eggs out of the nest and enjoy their own food.
This selfish, domineering nature is repulsive. But it's not just the cuckoo that's so selfish, but naturalist Richard Foti has found that the bee-like hornet is also this virtue, not only greedily sucking nectar, but also placing its eggs near the hive so that the larvae can climb into the hive and pretend to be young bees to eat and drink.
This is just a small episode in the forest, where all kinds of interesting shows are staged every day. Foti was captivated by this magical woodland and enjoyed wandering through it every day.
This 1.6-hectare woodland has become a paradise for Foti after retirement, and as the seasons change in the forest, trees, flowers, fungi and animals will bring him many surprises.
He used his childlike curiosity to perceive the changes in everything in the forest, and with the meticulous working attitude of a naturalist, he carefully observed this woodland and the history of the change of the woodland, and recorded the notes of natural observation, so there was this popular science book "Four Seasons in the Forest".
When I first started reading this book, the scenery in the forest and some historical stories alternated, and it felt a little chaotic. It wasn't until I read the following passage that I woke up. Suddenly there was a sudden sense of enlightenment, it turned out that Foti did not simply record the scenery of the four seasons in the forest, but through the rise and fall of the woodland, understand the changes of history.
The tree grows there, just as the fame of man grows stronger and stronger; when the tree falls, it becomes more and more unbearable like the decline of man's reputation. The years are hurried, the personnel are impermanent, and the fame and wealth are all passing through the clouds, like a spring dream without a trace. But the trees don't forget to leave a circle of rings, but they only remember the timely passage of the seasons, the generous gifts of rain, and the hardships of the year of drought.
The forest land changed hands several times, and the wars, plagues, and famines that occurred during the period led to the constant replacement of the owners of the woodland, making the woodland barren, the trees dead and the birds dead, and a depressed scene.
Through the rise and fall of trees, we can glimpse the stable life of society and woodland owners. Because only when there is social stability, the owner of the woodland will have the funds to maintain the woodland, the trees and flowers under careful management will grow luxuriantly, the creatures in the forest can reproduce, and everything will flourish.
Similarly, the trees complement each other, and the price of the sale bulges the owner's pocket. When forest owners see an increase in profits, they will naturally increase investment so that forest land can be better developed.
The woodland is close to the River Thames, and the owner of the woodland uses trees to build ships and hold rowing competitions, which has become a major landscape and attracts many tourists.
Forty chose to start writing in April because everything was revived, the bluebells in the woodlands were in full bloom, and the creatures were eager to move. Presumably, it represents a beautiful hope.
I went from the initial chaos to the final calm to read, and immersed in it, following in The footsteps of Foti, feeling the four seasons of the woodland, for the reader, is not a kind of promotion, a kind of fate?