Above / Two years ago we observed this Hummingbird moth in May Watts Park, flittering from one colorful bloom to the next in the natural landscape. What a joy it was to watch an insect we didn’t even know existed mimic a bird!
OK! Spring sprang last month—complete with a memorable dip of frosty snow observed at Centennial Beach on April 27. That photo op was a couple days after treks along the Riverwalk and Knoch Knolls trails took us among blankets of bluebells that appealed to our cameras for their delicate beauty.
Springtime welcomes awesome wonders of nature such as the monarch butterfly spotted the other day fluttering in our backyard. Then there are creepy crawlers that worm their way along the sidewalk during spring showers. When I was a kid we encountered grasshoppers, walking sticks and praying mantises outside and considered keeping them as pets. Sometimes we stretched out on the lawn, looking up at the sky, watching the clouds go by as we identified the most animated shapes imaginable as they morphed from one image to another.
Other times our basement window wells were a showcase of woven webs where we’d observe granddaddy longlegs and other spiders with their catch of the day, still squirming and wiggling.
Certainly, insects and bugs are more visible all around us when we head outside. Most bugs in the Midwest are harmless, though some mosquitoes and ticks carry diseases. And some folks are highly allergic to bee stings.
When outdoor activities begin, warnings from the health department (many saved in PN’s online archives) suggest wearing clothing that covers your arms and legs – even tuck pants into socks so ticks have no access to skin. Wear light-colored clothing to check if any tick sticks on you. When walking in the woods, keep to the center of the trail. Ticks tend to stay low in shrubs and brushes. Simply check yourself, your kids and your pets after a long walk.
Half of all living things are insects!
What we’re remembering from science classes long ago is insects comprise more than half of all living things on Earth. For billions of years, they’ve been here crawling, slithering, flying, swarming and even stinging in natural habitats, ready to do their important part in the eco-system.
Insects pollinate blossoms, aerate the soil and control other insect and plant pests. Scavenger beetles feed on dead animals and fallen, rotting trees (Check out Knoch Knolls.), assisting decomposition that recycles nutrients back into the soil to help plants grow.
Reports of poison ivy and those seasonal pests already mentioned can be unwanted annoyances that need attention. Watch out for hanging vines.To prevent bug bites, you might want to use a chemical repellent with DEET, permethrin or picaridin. Good advice is to begin now to get into the habit of emptying all containers of standing water to prevent the mosquito population from growing.
Grow and renew with springtime!
And speaking of growing, local businesses report they’re growing. New ones are opening. Several local leaders are retiring. Times are changing.
Our printed pages always run out of space for all the good things our generous residents do for pleasure, so we post many stories and photos online at www.positivelynaperville.com – longer stories and more photos than we post on social media.
American wit Will Rogers is remembered for saying, “All I know is what I read in the papers.” If Rogers were alive today, we wonder what he’d say.
Part Two / May Editor’s Notes
Positively Naperville was founded, in part, because helping others makes us happier.
And though my parents’ strict “home rules” bugged me during the changing times of my teen years when “everybody else was doing it,” looking back I’m grateful for their determined guidance. I also appreciate the example my folks set as they volunteered and faithfully supported good causes to make their community a better place. Attitude is everything.
On Aug. 31, 1998, three years before this publication was launched, the top headline across the front page of Daily Herald proclaimed, “Internet makes its users depressed, study says.”
The $1.5 million research by Carnegie Mellon was funded by many well-known computer, software and communication companies, including the USPS. That year I’d just linked up to the internet, but still used my FAX line for most of my immediate communication.
For years, that front page story was held by a pushpin on the wall by my desk. (Now, and thanks to technology, a copy of that yellowed newsprint story has been saved electronically in a photo file.)
Over the past 20 years, I’ve marveled at many wonderful ways technology has improved our lives. It’s undeniably unquestionable.
In fact, I chuckle sometimes when folks resist the artificial intelligence of robots that makes many jobs more efficient and pleasant. Consider the success of the jet plane. Someone wondered in my presence why airplanes aren’t called “artificial birds.”
Still, the DH headline about depression remained a concern. As I became accustomed to the internet and that little beep that flagged another email, I sensed it could be addicting. I began to follow stories about research that didn’t always paint such a pretty picture of being plugged in. (Quite frankly, the way anonymous trolls crawl throughout the internet is creepier than any of the huge water bugs that used to invade my room at night when I lived on St. Thomas, USVI.)
Certainly, that remarkable hand-held computer connects the world. All my family and friends are connected.
I made a choice – this is America, after all – to stay unplugged outside of my office. I’m teased often for not having a cell phone. I’m also stubborn. I don’t feel the need to be accessible every minute of every day. Many subsequent reports assure me my freedom from the distraction of devices is the best decision for me.
‘Screenagers / Growing Up in the Digital Age’
Recently I attended a program sponsored by the Y and KidsMatter that featured a showing of “Screenagers,” an award-winning documentary on mental health by physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston.
Parents, teens, teachers, a school nurse and a school board member filled 40-plus seats set up in a “theater” setting, complete with popcorn, at the 95th Street Y.
“Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span?” we were asked. And we learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens, not including class time.
The open and frank discussion that followed focused on the importance of having regularly scheduled family conversations about the challenges, distractions and addiction that might come with social media, video games and smart phones.
One of the parents said she’s hopeful the pendulum will begin to swing the other way.
Sadly, youngsters riding their bicycles with smart phones in hand aren’t old enough to know any other way.
Technology, Chromebooks and smartphones are here to stay. When you have time, kindly use one of your electronic devices the check out www.screenagersmovie.com.
Nobody should determine self-worth by the number of likes on a picture.
Like good nature and the great outdoors, no matter our age, we just need to know it’s OK to keep things in balance to be free.
Happy 96th Birthday, Dad, on May 18.
– Stephanie Penick, PN Publisher
UPDATE, May 10, 2019 / Since this story appeared in the May print issue and online, students at Naperville North High School had the opportunity on May 7, 2019, to see “Screenagers” to begin exploring the struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction that might be impacting their lives. Other showings are planned to help start family conversations about the effects of the digital age that sometimes creates challenges for family life and individuals to find balance.
