be amazed!

Posted on August 8, 2018 by Shanda

First of all, it’s been a joy and a delight to watch kitty-kitty Walter (our new pet) get used to his new surroundings. He is curious and “literally plays with everything”, says Dave. You see in the photo that he is being tempted by Sherlock’s twitching tail.

Second of all, it’s 8:07 in the morning and I’m the only one awake!! Seth NEVER sleeps past 7 and most of the time is up even earlier. I just found him sleeping in the addition on the couch. He spent the night in there because of the air conditioning. So I wonder, is he still asleep because 1) he didn’t sleep well? or, 2) he COULD finally sleep peacefully out of his hot upstairs bedroom? Whatever the reason, it’s nice to sit here and type………….

“You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” Psalm 16:11 (thank you, husband, for sending along the verse)

I was thinking this morning about the enjoyable fruits of the Holy Spirit, those only-from-above giftings of God to our souls. In those oftentimes rare/unnoticed moments of deep spirituality when we find ourselves really able to love outside of ourselves in a mysterious way. We have joy, and it is unexplainable, gentleness toward every living creature, peace, beyond comprehension! And, patience like our *big brother* Job. These beautiful character qualities/fruits aren’t from us (we cannot muster them up, they cannot be faked) and are the Holy Spirit within us, given to us, and no reason for pride or boasting.

….the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22

For in him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28

Alas, sometimes it’s just simply hard to breath “down here”. And this is the reason we pour over the Scriptures as much as possible, and remember, and think of Him, and pray, we do these things to stay connected, to stay reminded. To stay breathing.

“But, first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the signs. And secondly, I give you a warning. Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly: I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearances. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters.” ~CS Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia

Home on Earth, real Home “in the sky”……….

We have had such hot days lately, it was pleasant to sit with my latest Newbury medal winner (I’m attempting to read them all) while the children swam in the pond……..

….and to have Jacob walk down the hill to show me a cool caterpillar. Thanks, Jake, for grilling us all a nice lunch yesterday!!!

At my house yesterday there were all these people: Rich, myself, Michael, Jacob, Ethan, Caleb T, Grace, Kylee, Brittnee, David, Caleb, Jack, Seth, and Sarah. But not all at once. Some came for a while and then left. Some worked all day and then came home. 🙂

Yesterday afternoon on the couch, David helped me identify a bug using the internet. It didn’t take us long, but seeing the different insects online filled me with the desire to go back outside to look for even more bugs with the magnifying lens attached to my camera. It’s such fun to stand over the flowers and plants and search for insects with your eyes……….at first you see “nothing” but little by little you see 100’s of creatures……and much activity.

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This was a small moth, about the size of a fifty-cent piece. But with my lens I can get a nice close-up. It’s amazing to see the details. Observe. Study. Be amazed.

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These pretty little white flowers grew in clusters along a thin vine-like stem.

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Meanwhile, Dave was looking in the pond for a big snake but had to make do with a little frog (sitting on his leg next to his thumb for size comparison). He sat nicely for his portrait.

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This plant has been tearing the skin on my legs my entire life. It’s just a tad thinner than spaghetti and grows plenteously by our stream. One direction of the plant doesn’t scratch you, but the other direction, oh it sticks so tightly to your legs and scratches them terribly. I’ve never identified it’s name, there is a small white flower that grows on it, maybe I can look it up in my flower identification book today.

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a cluster of silvery eggs……so beautiful!

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The band on his tail makes him special. You can see Ambush bugs to the left of it.

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THIS IS THE BUG I JUST HAD TO FIGURE OUT. AMBUSH BUG

The other day I saw one gripping a yellow jacket. The yellow jacket was upside down and dead in its front claws. It was a sight to see. And these ambush bugs are all over the flowers right now (especially Joe-pie weed and goldenrod). I beg you to read the link, you will be amazed.

In a nutshell, it sucks the bodily fluids out of its prey.

As my brother Dave says, “its horrifying”.

“slurp”

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It would take me a long time to identify all these insects but I sure would like to do it. Each one has fascinating characteristics and wears the nicest bug-clothes.

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Another ambush bug!

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And this one! I’ve never seen it before, it was so tiny I only noticed it because I was photographing another bug nearby and saw it waving around first one tissue-paper wing and then the other.

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This bee posed so nicely, I felt as if it was just WAITING to be noticed. Yes, you’re lovely.

After I breathlessly captured this photo (I thought it would fly away before I could get close) I talked to my friend Lea Ann and then took the kids to music lessons and football practice. I spent time walking around the cemetery next to the fields and then met my husband for a quick trip down town for strawberry sundaes, just the two of us, before practice was over.

When we got home, David made a chocolate cake from scratch …….

……and we had a rain storm. I sat on the porch to watch it for a while before bedtime…..

If you watch carefully you will see the world light up in a quick flash of lightening.

And now it’s Wednesday. Good morning!

You are loved.

such small creatures….still, so lovely

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Shanda

This morning David and Caleb left for school on the bus and Ethan and Grace left together in Ethan’s new truck so Ethan could take Grace to the HS before he drove to work and that left Seth, Sarah, and Jacob still at home. Then, Jacob left for work but texted me 10 minutes later saying, “I’m coming back, I forgot my I.D.”

He was not happy as he tore around the house (all 6 feet 2 inches of him) looking for it. I finished up what I was doing and told Seth to keep an eye out for the bus so he wouldn’t miss it as I helped Jacob. “He can’t find his I.D, Seth, do you know where it is?” “I don’t even know WHAT it is,” he said. “It’s his picture on a shoe-lace type necklace.” “For work?” “Yes” “I didn’t know he had to have his picture taken for work…….” Jacob stomped through the room again. “I ALWAYS PUT IT ON MY DRESSER AND IT’S NOT THERE!” He’s getting more and more steamed.

“Did you look underneath it?” says Seth……

A minute later I found Seth’s big brother Jacob on the floor looking under his dresser. Lo and behold….there it was.

I ran up the stairs, “Seth, Seth!! you saved the day! It was under the dresser!”

21 year old big brother Jacob was right behind me, very relieved, and we found 9 year old little brother Seth waiting for us, doing a slow clap and nodding his head up and down with a knowing smile, because he saved the day.

*****

Yesterday evening there was a house FULL of young people and as I was scrolling Facebook I saw a photo of a PINK praying mantis (young one) and it immediately made me want to go outside and look for insects to photograph. It’s one of my favorite things to do at 6:00 on a Sunday evening when the house is super loud and crazy and my husband is away on a business trip and any other time, too, really.

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What shiny eyes you have, dragonfly.

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Can you imagine having antenna this long and graceful? Did you take whiskers from a cat?

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I laugh at bugs because they are so smart. As soon as they see me they *quick as a wink* hide underneath whatever leaf or grass they are perched upon. It’s a great game of hide and seek.

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Look at it’s tiny black eye. Just the tiniest of dots.

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buttercup pedals // heart

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This flower is about the size of a dime. So lovely. 6 pedals with pointed ends of the loveliest shade of purple. They grow on the tops of thick grass-like stalks and are a flower of my childhood.

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There is a bug underneath all that spit.

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Lovely red cloak

I had to twist around the stem to take the photo because he kept going behind the flower to hide from me. Imagine spending time in a buttercup.

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butterflies and moths are impossible to get close to, I only got this photo because it was dead.

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It’s so beautiful!!!! I bet he would be fun to draw.

a couple of these photos will not contain an insect.

Yarrow is just coming into blossom.

Their whiteness looks so lovely in a sea of green grasses. Their stalks are still nice and bendy and tossed back and forth in the wind in a very sea-like wavey way.

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mating bugs

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I admit this one gave me a creepy feeling.

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Teeny tiny spider and two teeny tiny black bugs. Do they know they are being watched by a spider?

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“What big eyes you have, Grandmother!”

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I imagine this is one of those super-hero bugs wearing dark shades and a business suit and out to save the day *like Seth*.

with pedals

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and without.

And all God’s people said……….

madame butterfly

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Shanda

Oh what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

“I trust You. Give me wisdom. Give me love to spill over. My life is Yours.”

*~*~*~*~*~*

A simply DRENCHED bumble bee, waiting out the rain on a bee balm blossom.

I don’t know…..but again, drenched.

close up of a zinnia.. .. .gorgeous color pink.

My nature studies have gone from birds to bees and other insects. It’s such a pleasure to walk around the outskirts of our lawn, where the mowed grass meets the wilder grasses and flowers and look for insects. There are always interesting things to see.

I still like to watch for birds, too. In fact, I keep seeing a yellow warbler (wearing a black mask) peeping at me from the bushes, it must be distracting me from seeing a nest because it’s a typically shy bird. I’ll try to photograph it today.

breathtaking greens and yellow

I showed Sarah the photos and when she realized what she was seeing, she said “Delete it!”

This is my favorite photo of the bunch. The wings! Did you ever guess there would be wings like this on a tiny bug? (it’s on a yarrow flower, a common wildflower in our area)

It’s not a very clear photo because just as I was taking it I felt a cold thing go across my bare big toe………

It was a big juicy worm.

This gorgeous bug, if it senses an enemy near. . . . .

….drops down and plays dead. It literally plays dead! It had me fooled for a moment.

Yesterday I was on the porch and saw a Monarch fly by. I walked around to follow it and discovered it busily laying eggs on the milkweed that I let grow in the garden. See how it presses it’s tail to the leaf?

It leaves an egg behind, a teeny white egg. When it hatches, the caterpillar will be all set because it simply LOVES milkweed leaves.

By gently turning the leaves over on the plants I have found at least 5 eggs. We plan on collecting them after they hatch and watching them grow. It’s one of our favorite summertime nature studies.

****

A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30

madame moth

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Shanda

One evening this week I went into my room and found a large brown moth playing a rather dangerous game of tag with the ceiling fan spinning over my bed. I quickly turned the fan off but the moth continued to fly around like something crazy so I turned off all but one of the lights in the room. The moth gravitated toward it and settled down on a closet door. I was able to get a photo and then attempted to trap it under a large glass in order to take it outside where it belonged. However, Madame Moth had other ideas and escaped the glass with fluttering wings…..to my shoulder. I did a quick, sly shuffle, while squealing, toward the door but alas, it vanished off my shoulder and disappeared. For the remainder of the night I found myself absentmindedly brushing at my hair and clothes. I hadn’t seen the moth fly away and felt as if it were still on me somewhere.

The next morning……….

I found it on the light pink curtains in the bathroom. The curtain rod was one of those spring loaded kinds that can be adjusted between the window frame so I took another photo and then pulled the entire curtain down and took it and the moth outside….where it belonged. We have a large wrap around porch and I put the curtains on the quiet side, away from doors and activity of people and pets, on a small table. The poor moth was so still and silent that I wondered if it was even alive. I checked on it throughout the day and it never moved. I felt badly that I hadn’t been able to get it outside the night before when it was so obviously full of life.

The next morning…….

It was gone, all but a single leg and 11 chartreuse colored eggs. I think it left it’s leg behind because even I had a hard time removing it from the curtain, it was hooked into the fabric rather tightly.

The eggs look amazingly like green grapes.

flicker

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Shanda

I want to blog every.single.day. If I don’t blog, it’s because I have writer’s block, I’m sick, or I’m too busy…..even now I only have fifteen minutes.

I just love sitting here with my laptop, typing and sharing my photos.

I took this picture of a spider and then noticed a butterfly. (or is it the other way around?)

Yesterday I went for a walk and a pair of old friends pulled up next to me in their car. They had brought us vegetables from their garden, including a turnip the size of a bowling ball. Oh it was such a happy, quick visit. They asked about the children and we stood out in the hot September sun, by their car, chatting and smiling. When they left we hugged each other and then the Mr. stopped and said, “I hear a Flicker”, while looking up into the treetops by my house. Nothing. The Mrs. and I heard it too, but we both thought maybe it was the squirrel we saw. “No, it’s a flicker, remember, we had one at our place the other day?” he said to his wife.

We looked for it, just for a moment, but then it was time for goodbye.

We’ve almost eaten all the watermelon, and it’s that juicy and pink.

Today I did something for the first time. I’ve arrived late for Doctor’s appointments, I’ve completely forgotten Doctor’s appointments, I’ve showed up for the wrong day, but today was the first time I was exactly an hour early. I could not believe it. What a mother I am (this was a check up for Grace). We had time to leave and go to Barnes and Noble (double discount days for members!). She had a hot chai and I had a hot cider and we spent some time browsing the nice books and magazines.

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We went to get Cassandra to bring her back home with us, and we made chicken enchiladas for dinner.

(Have you noticed the bug theme?)

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After my vegetable friends left yesterday I wandered around with my camera and it was like a dizzy dream…..the sun was soaking into my bones…I was tired…buzzing sounds filled my ears….the smell of wild plants was the best potpourri ever imagined. The stinging bees and hornets and wasps were busy all over the place, they got along just fine as they each found a spot to gather from the flowers. They especially love the goldenrod.

I like to lean in very closely and just observe. They have such interesting ways, wings, eyes, legs……movements, every where I looked there were more and more flying insects, crawling, working, such tiny things almost unnoticeable unless a person stops to look for them.

The sun continued to bake everything under it, including myself. You know that feeling when you first get into a hot tub and you say “ahhhhhhhh” and close your eyes?

The experience was like a lullaby and I became so tired I lay back in the grass for a minute or so.

Looking up, I saw a bird way up high in the dead tree.

It was a Flicker.

pictures of the day

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Shanda

life in the sunshine

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Shanda

Cardinal flower, a wildflower that grows on the edges of the stream.

This sort of thing made lovely “flour” in my outdoor kitchens growing up.

The buds of a Cardinal Flower.

Arrowhead, an aquatic wildflower, according to the nature guide, “Beneath the muck, rhizomes produce edible, starchy tubers, utilized by ducks and muskrats and know as “duck potatoes.” Native Americans are said to have opened muskrat houses to get at their cache of tubers.”

I find this sort of thing utterly fascinating, do you?

I was walking through the stream in my flip flops and noticed reflections of cardinal flowers.

Checking on my three little human fishes.

Goldenrod, with lots of little bugs on it. “As suggested by their showy flowers, goldenrod are insect-pollinated.” You can always see some neat insects on a goldenrod.

Common Thread Waisted Wasp; more info here.

Queen Anne’s lace is everywhere. “it’s long, first year tap root can be cooked and eaten.”

hmmm, I should try it.

Daisy Fleabane, “the common name fleabane originated from a belief that the dried flower heads of these plants could rid a dwelling of fleas.”

Perhaps I should decorate my cats with them.

Cardinal flowers are pollinated by hummingbirds and I caught a glimpse of two tiny birds becoming territorial over them…..so I sat on a large rock and waited for one to come back.

It’s a photo that I never did get to take….they won in the “patience game”.

I thought the shadows on my legs were pretty cool.

You don’t see the hummingbird moth everyday. They are so neat!

Swallowtail butterfly.

The thing is, if you just slowly walk near tall wild grasses, through fields, through any wild place, or even in the city…look carefully at the leaves and flowers of any plant you see…it will be such a interesting experience for anyone. I took most of these pictures within one hour of time, and I saw many more insects and birds that I wasn’t able to get photographs of; grasshoppers, hummingbirds, the caroline wren (a sweet little bird), and others. Then, there are caterpillars, so many different ones, and all so interesting.

Yesterday the children and I walked around with Sarah’s little bug container and we caught a ladybug which she named Red, a small butterfly which she named Orange (it was….orange), and a grasshopper she named Grass. We put a head of goldenrod in it. It had such tiny black bugs on it that they were able to escape through the mesh of her container. She kept these little pets for a couple hours, and then released them again.

“Out here you can hear the rhythmic hum of silence. Listen, there’s music in the grass.”

I think the music comes from all the little insects and butterflies, and our hearts as we enjoy making wondrous discoveries.

Nature-Love (my board on pinterest)