On the Cover: Our Natural World
Cover by Lucie Monk Carter
A busy mother takes a breath in the carefully curated wilderness of West Louisiana, examining the flowers that capture her four-year-old’s attention more closely, learning their names. A birding couple spends a winter entranced by a timberdoodle in their yard. A curious foodie holds a queen bee in his fingers. And a family opens their ears a little wider, hearing—really hearing, for the first time—the layers upon layers of birdsong right outside their backdoor.
In our 2021 “Our Natural World” issue, our writers carve out time to focus in on, and wonder about, a few of the countless wonders making up the massive mysterious ecosystems of our region. How does a moth spend its brief two weeks of life? Can a bee near a blueberry farm produce a sweeter honey? What actually makes a Creole tomato superior to any old other tomato?
And finally, what happens when we, the oh-so-unnatural human being, enters into the picture? What do we bring? What do we take?