![](https://susiespikol.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/salamander-in-hand.jpg)
Hold Nature in Your Hand
Susie Spikol is a naturalist and writer who helps connect people of all ages to nature.
Book Trailer to The Animal Adventurer’s Guide
Thank you to SALT Project for this video.
![A child's hand holding a red eft salamander.](https://susiespikol.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/IMG_4093-550x380.jpg)
Rain Walkers
Red efts, the eastern newt—they are a kid’s dream come true, so small and touchable, and their tangerine color so outlandish in a world dedicated to camouflage. No teeth, no fangs, claws, or quills. They are damp but not slimy, and it looks like they are smirking as if the joke’s on you.
![A ruby-throated hummingbird in mid-flight against a green background.](https://susiespikol.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/candi-foltz-l23EsqKgDts-unsplash-550x380.jpg)
Your Hummingbird Heart on Mother’s Day
I am holding a teacup-sized hummingbird nest in my hands. The outside is covered in silvery green lichen flakes, stitched together with spider silk. The silk not only holds this home together; it allows the nest to stretch and grow as the babies grow. The inside, no bigger than a thimble...
![A red fox standing in a meadow.](https://susiespikol.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/scott-walsh-CQl3Y5bV6FA-unsplash-550x380.jpg)
Fox Time
We're in the zone, totally caught up in the moment, and hot on the trail of a red fox.
![](https://susiespikol.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/4608252252_6819e5a472_o-550x380.jpg)
Hope on Silent Wings
We try calling, a plaintive “who-cooks-for-you.” I see their faces full of anticipation, straining to hear a response. Children nestled tight against parent and grandparent, eyes wide, bright like those stars up above.