When I was a preschooler, I asked my dad why did he removed all wasps' nest, but left a bird nest built under the eaves alone. We lived in one unit of a long row of wooden houses back then. My dad explained that wasps stung people, therefore we do not want any wasps living in close proximity. Birds are friendly creatures. We should be highly honoured if wild birds chose to nest next to our house. He went on to talk about how smart animals are. Birds would not nest in flood-prone areas. They would choose to nest near kindly and peaceful folks who live in harmony with nature.
My second brother heard that and went investigating. There was a neighbour living nearby that we nicknamed Fierce Mother Hen. She was quarrelsome with her own family, and often found fault with the others who lived nearby. My brother and I certainly did not find a single wasp nest in front, nor behind her house. Of course no bird would nest in her back yard as she chased all of them away. The interesting fact was that we could not find any trace of ants crawling towards, or away from outside her house. It seemed all kinds of ants avoided her house totally. From chatting with her children, I found that she would constantly scald every ant in sight with boiling water. After living there for a few years, one day the family moved away suddenly. Apparently white ants (termites) proliferated in that unit since no other ants went there. The unfortunate lady's furniture was damaged. The landlord evicted them to repair the structural damage caused by termites.
It was true what the ancient Chinese wrote about animals and humans co-existing side by side in texts recorded hundreds of years ago. My dad read widely although he did not have much schooling. That was a long time before the modern terms like being green, environmentally friendly, limiting our carbon footprint... My brother who was interested in our environment as a child is today a scientist specialising in electronic engineering. I, who was curious and being a chatterbox as a little girl, am still interested in people and often write articles describing human foibles. This morning I found my son removing wasp nests built right by my front door. I found myself telling him the lessons my dad taught me more than half a century ago.
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