Finally. The butterfly species my friend always manages to spot decided to show itself to me today. After the dry year that was 2022, it is refreshing to see nature recovering so fast.
Heh, how curious. Biology used to be my most-hated subject back in school. I can't tell whether or not my hatred was a result of my biology teacher, who judged every kid based on their looks and popularity among others, and, after six years of teaching our class, began to make his growing disinterest in his job quite obvious. Judging by my old notes, I guess I was mentally absent during his lessons, as one note is nothing but praise for genetically-modified organisms – a stark contrast to a class test I took a year prior in geography class, in which I wrote that humans are predatory animals that base their existences on the radical exploitation of resources (and got punished for it without ever receiving an explanation, just a vague question mark and a death stare). Decades later, I make a new friend and his passion for biology almost instantly infected me to the point I'm taking part in a citizen science project and send him all of my observations.
Among our latest observations aren't just rare butterflies; while he focuses more on the fauna, I keep a closer eye on the flora. We have begun to spot animals and plants common or even exclusive to areas outside of their usual locations. It's possible that we have picked some seeds with our shoes up during our walks.
Maybe one day, we will wake up with a forest in front of our homes. We wouldn't mind it, for sure.
...
...Huh, an iced tea? Were my face and hands giving you the hint or is my mind really that easy to read, ~bartender?