The things we miss

Dusk finds night creatures emerging from their nooks and crevices. Crickets, bats, snakes, frogs, and a multitude of yet unnamed forms assert themselves in the unrelenting struggle for survival. Sadly though we are hearing fewer croaks and seeing less bioluminescence. Where have all the native frogs and fireflies gone? Are these citizens going the way of the dodo? When I was a kid we used to catch tiny native frogs, beetles, and red dragonflies that herald the onset of the rainy season. Bird nests were everywhere and colorful avians nestled on low, fruit-laden branches, unmindful of our presence, as we frolicked in the bushes in harmony with the rhythms and whims of nature...