I was driving home and stopped suddenly – a mother quail ran across the street, with her 7 babies running right behind her. A family of quail is usually bookended by parents. After my car passed them, the daddy quail quickly crossed the street and caught up with his family.
Unfortunately, baby quail have an 85% mortality rate. They can’t fly for about 11 days after birth and predators are all over the place. Be safe, little ones!
I walked.
I noticed a giant centipede, walking on the garage floor. I swept him away (their bite can hurt a lot).
I walked.
I noticed several rabbits. A groundsnake slithered in front of me. My dog had scared it.
I walked some more.
And the sun went down.
The flower does not ask for anything. She simply looks up to the sky and drinks in the sun. She absorbs the water that comes her way. She gives so much: pollen to procreate, nectar for the birds and bees and beauty for all to see.
Can you imagine the flower complaining? Or arguing? Or gossiping?
Do not succumb to insecurity or ugliness.
Be brilliant. Be brilliantly, bravely, unapologetically you.
You don’t have to own anything material to feel life is abundant.
I walked my dog this afternoon. Cacti were blooming fire orange flowers. Wildflowers of purple and yellow were sprayed everywhere. Insects and birds were busy working.
If you can find joy in wildflowers and nature around you, then no one can take that feeling of abundance from you.
So…even if there is no global warming (but I believe there is), what’s the harm in taking care of the environment?
Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.
John Muir
I live in a sprawling suburb outside of Phoenix. We need to get in the car in order to go shopping. I wish I could walk to a farmer’s market, but suburbs weren’t made for walking.
Once in awhile, my family goes out to the protected county park adjacent to our neighborhood. We hike the trails and talk and laugh. The outing is relaxing and refreshing both physically and mentally.
My favorite places to be out:
Where do you go?
The butterfly’s head was buried in the rocks, her beautiful wings were chevrons trembling in the wind.
Gingerly, I lifted her out. Half of one wing was gone – eaten?
She was shaking. Or was it just the wind? Was she already dead? I brought her into the house and laid her on a small plate. She shivered, and then she was still. I want to keep her, selfishly, to admire her beauty.
Terrible picture – my phone camera is s-l-o-w. Vulture walked away from the carcass here.
Today, we saw four turkey vultures preying on something. They were on the sidewalk! We drove right up to them. A small rabbit had been dismembered and disemboweled. Body parts all over the pavement. We drove away and were gone for three hours. When we returned, everything was gone: the rabbit, the vultures…Nature is efficient. She wastes nothing.
