When I was young, there never seemed to be much wildlife in my home state. Aside from gray squirrels and white-tailed deer, wildlife was something that either belonged to the past or to other places with more undisturbed land, such Ontario or Wyoming. I think it's because this area was much more agricultural then, and the activities of agriculture are arranging nature for the benefit of a monoculture, or for a few species.
An environmental news story I heard a lot about growing up was how suburban development was permitting the return of the eastern forest. This is quite evident when you look at pictures taken at end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century and compare them with what the landscape looks like now. The old pictures show a lot of space and fields. There were open vistas then that are now obscured by trees and forests.
The return of the forest has also, it seems, permitted the return of larger animals. Yesterday, I discovered a three-foot long milk snake by the backdoor step. My mom has named him, "Yogurt". This morning, as I went down the road, I was stopped by a middle-aged couple directing traffic around a snapping turtle with a shell that was around one and a half feet in diameter.
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vernal: Of or relating to spring. The vernal equinox.
unctuous: Physically greasy in appearance, or, interpersonally, smug or ingratiating.
turgid: Distended, swollen.
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