At some point in my life- perhaps from my very beginning- I had an urge to explore the world and understand it better. Borne by my imagination, my childhood bedroom contained an ocean and my bed was my ship from which I would launch a hundred explorations. Lying on my belly on the carpet, I was scuba diving with ocean creatures, nearly a thousand kilometres inland from the closest ocean. Our Canadian winters provided a surreal, snowy landscape, suitable for any wandering mind to picture something otherworldly. I became an explorer of outer space like my hero, captain Jean-Luc Picard, digging for chunks of ice that in my mind’s eye, were more precious than diamonds. In the summers, my large, rural, back yard provided me with more than enough scientific intrigue to pique my interest, even when my imaginary worlds grew old. I collected dead insects and rocks, and in turn learned of fossils, geology, and biology. My parents supplied me with illustrated books and encyclopedias, and would teach me to place my favourite tree leaves carefully between the pages, preserving their shape and colour like a time capsule I would uncover years later. They took me rock hunting in mine tailings where with an underlying excitement, I knew there was a possibility I might make some fantastic discovery that would cement my future as a renowned explorer. When in kindergarten my teacher asked the class what we wanted to be when we grew up, I responded with confidence that I was going to be a scientist, much to my classmates amusement.
A pair of Forest Red Tailed Black Cockatoos pose on a tree branch.
Bill Bryson’s novel “At Home”, cleverly weaves a narrative that includes hundreds of years of human history, and the source of nearly every object in every corner of our modern homes. It’s witty and immensely pleasurable to read and re- read, and all the while I can’t stop imagining Mr. Bryson wandering around his home in a bath robe and slippers, day in and day out for months, while compiling his thoughts with his research. He needn’t have gone far - not even beyond his own garden - to be inspired to learn and understand so very much about ourselves. Bill Bryson is a wildly successful author, who’s sold millions of copies of his many excellent novels. Why then would he choose to stay at home when his career and financial success allows the freedom to go anywhere at any time? Why would he instead choose to stay at home? The answer is in just about any one of Mr. Bryson’s other books. For a seasoned travel writer, it must feel a bit like a vacation to be able to work from home for a change. But what would it be about?
A Blue-tongued skink can often be found sulking around the suburbs of Perth, wary of cats and dogs.
Science writer David Quaaman also hit on this topic in an essay that questioned the average person’s wonder with their own backyard, as opposed to what you and I view in today’s nature documentaries. He outlines in his book "Natural Acts", that with the advancement of filming techniques, and as nature documentary production budgets grow ever larger, the everyday viewers might have a preconceived notion that nature acts out in the way it is shown in this medium so often. Wildlife as an action film, rather than, well, mostly hidden and still. Nature is always in action, and yet, if you were to find yourself in the middle of the Congolese jungle you might just find it as quiet and still as your mainly benign backyard. And while Mr. Quaaman has actually found himself in untouched African jungle, when you read his chronicle of the journey, you’d be convinced he he understood thoroughly what he was writing about. Sometimes, when you find yourself in one of the world’s most primeval forests, habited by gorillas and elephants and jaguars, the only thing to write about is how to best tape up your feet to prevent blisters, and foot worms.
An unlucky lizard becomes a big meal for a spider.
For those who find my own musings more difficult to interpret than the writers I mentioned, is that for anyone who craves exploration of the world, for the wannabe scientists and amateur naturalists, my recommendation is to start in your very home and backyard. Look closely and be patient. After my time as a junior explorer waned, and the world of sex, popularity, and money began to take over my brain with the onset of adolescence, the scientist within rescinded like a Black bear entering a torpor at the onset of winter. Unlike true hibernation, bears wake up now and again, occasionally check out their surroundings and gauge their proximity to spring, before going back down for further, deep slumber. Spring does arrive eventually, and once again I found myself with a renewed interest in science. Now even more complicated with the added philosophy of social constructs such as law, economics, and politics. It was overwhelming initially, and for many, the onslaught of information shouted at us means, it will remain complicated. But doesn't have to. We needn’t vast sums of money and long, distant travels to find fascinating things. Like Bill Bryson did, you can simply look at your own home. The world was filled with wonder at every step, and I was only just starting to understand any of it. I was again excited by science and nature. I was excited by the possibilities, and still, have yet to take off my slippers.
The Australian darter bird, spotted with just its head and neck above the water, fishing in the Swan River.
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