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the field guide

little living creatures. yours to take.

a whole menagerie, each one alive right now and made by hand. press "take it" and the code is in your hand - paste it before </body> and it lives on your page. every one a gift.

in season now

all the sky the ground the water everywhere
● residents they live here now - go and see
the fireflies
lampyris memoriae
twelve little lights that drift, and lean toward you when you come near.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the moths & the candle
phalaena fidelis
one small flame. five who cannot leave it alone.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the snail
helix patientiae
in no hurry at all. leaves a little light behind, and the light fades kindly.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the koi
cyprinus scriptor
two of them, gold and pale, writing slow s-curves in dark water.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
dandelion seeds
taraxacum spei
always up and to the right, on a wind you can't see. like hope.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the butterfly
papilio sui nominis
it wanders a while, then rests on its own name and breathes with its wings.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the sleeping cat
felis somnians
asleep at the bottom of the page. breathe with it. hover, and an ear will notice you.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the constellation
stellae memores
bring your cursor close and the stars remember each other. step away, and they let go.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the rain
pluvia lenis
soft rain against the window. nothing to fix, nowhere to be.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
birds on a wire
passeres lineae
five of them, sitting in the early light. click, and they scatter. wait, and they come back one by one.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
paper planes
charta volans
someone folded these and let them go. they're still going.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the tiny train
machina minima
it only comes when you're not waiting for it.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
ants carrying letters
formicae litterarum
five of them found five letters, and decided to say something.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the jellyfish
medusa spirans
they rise the way a breath does. slow, and lit from the inside.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
spiders on threads
aranea prudens
they come down to have a look at you, then think better of it.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the lighthouse
pharus custos
it isn't looking for anything. it just keeps the light moving.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
falling leaves
folia remittentia
they practise letting go all season. it never once looks like falling.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the gardener
hortulanus minimus
they water a small dark spot, and a small bright thing agrees to grow.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the deer
cervus primae lucis
she lifts her head at the first light, then goes back to the quiet grass.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the dragonfly
libellula subita
she stitches the air, hovers a breath, and is gone before you're sure.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the tadpoles
rana futura
little commas in the dark water, quietly becoming something with legs.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the bees
apis aestatis
back and forth, patient, carrying the summer from one flower to the next.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the good dog
canis bonus
he trots in, turns around once, and settles where he can see you.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the murmuration
sturnus milleanimarum
a hundred of them, one mind, folding the evening open and shut.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the geese
anser vocans
they go over in a long grey v, calling the season along behind them.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the turtle
testudo certa
in no hurry to be anywhere. he'll get there. he always does.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the ladybug
coccinella dubitans
she walks the edge, opens her small red doors, and thinks better of leaving.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the cricket
gryllus vesperi
a small green voice in the dark. every little while, it sings.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the inchworm
geometra minima
measuring the world one small arch at a time, in no rush to finish.
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the mice
mures furtivi
quick and shy. they dart, they freeze, they wonder if you saw.
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the metamorphosis
papilio temporis veri
wait with it. the caterpillar knows something about becoming.
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the hedgehog
erinaceus involutus
snuffling along, and when the world feels big, it simply rolls up small.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the beetle
scarabaeus aeneus
a little brass-backed thing, going about its slow, certain business.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the wind
ventus ipse
you can't see it, only what it moves - the grass leans, and leans back.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the fog
nebula mollis
it rolls in soft and takes the edges off everything. nothing to solve in there.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the thunder
tonitrus longinquus
a far-off flash, then the count, then the low roll. all of it a long way from here.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the puddle
speculum pluviae
after the rain, a small still mirror - and the whole sky, upside down and softened.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the cloud shadows
umbra nubium
a soft dimming passes over, the way a cloud crosses the sun. then the light comes back.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
● rare they choose their hour
the fox
vulpes fortunae
once in a long while, she crosses. if you're lucky, she stops and looks back.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the owl
strix vigiliae
awake while the world sleeps. she blinks, slow, and keeps the watch.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the moon moth
actias plenilunii
pale as the moon she's named for, drifting, in no hurry to land.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the hermit crab
pagurus errantium
he lives on the lost pages - home is whatever was abandoned. getting lost is how you meet him.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
first snow
nix prima
the first of it, settling on the top edge of things. it asks nothing of you.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the shooting star
stella fugax
once in a long while, one crosses. make the wish before you're sure it was there.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the aurora
aurora tenera
slow curtains of light on the cold air. the winter sky, quietly showing off.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
the real moon
luna vera
tonight's moon, exactly as she is - drawn from her true age, not a picture.
yours ✓ · paste before </body>
○ not yet sighted the ground is being prepared
○ not yet sighted

the pond that ripples

stagnum respondens

a dark pond for the foot of a page. touch the water and the rings will answer you. the koi are considering it.

promised to the water
○ not yet sighted

the cat who reads with you

felis sequax

she will walk down the page beside you as you read, and sit when you sit, and pretend it was her idea.

promised to the long reads
keep walking · the rooms
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