During lockdown we’ve experienced The Good; more time to enjoy nature and the ‘great outdoors’ (the sweet sound of birdsong!), a sense of community, sharing and a resourcefulness not seen for decades, The Bad; a rise in plastic use and disposables such as masks and single use items like plastic glasses, cutlery, and condiment sachets. Last, but certainly not least, The Ugly; fly tipping and litter-bugging of epic proportions (the latter autocorrected to ‘jitter-bugging’ - if only :-)!).

As I walk out of my front door a powder blue speck of fluff, sitting atop our potted succulent plant, catches my eye. I kneel down and see that it is a living thing, a myriad of tiny hairs rippling as it travels along. Touching the stem to investigate further, I catapult it from its perch. Whoops! 

Fortunately, I see that there are more of this mysterious insect, some of the many ‘littles’ that live in the space around us. When on her travels my friend's Costa Rican wildlife guide told her that they wouldn’t be looking for the ‘Big Five’ but instead for the thousand littles, and I am reminded of how apt this sentiment is when looking at nature.