a journey through landscapes real and imagined

Category: Creation Care (Page 2 of 2)

Hawks and Dragons and Bees…

Sorry for the little break in posting. I was tired… and I just didn’t have the energy to post. Wren recorded Feeling the Pulse (2014) by Juwon Ogungbe (b1961). He was born in London and that is where he started learning music. When he was 9 he moved to Nigeria and became interested in much more diverse musical styles. He lives in London now and writes music for orchestras as well as pop music! The tune Wren recorded makes me feel like I feel when I’m out on a hike – so I thought I would put it together with some photos I took while hiking over the weekend.

Things are changing fast out in my favorite places. Migration is done, so I’m not seeing so many birds, but it is really nice to see the same ones every time I visit a place. There are 2 hawks that always start calling (they sound like screams) every time I walk out into a particular field. Last weekend, one of them kept calling for quite a while after I passed. When I finally turned around to head back to the car, they were at it again! I’m not sure if they are “yelling” at me, or for another reason, but these hawks are the most vocal I’ve ever experienced. I also love that they have been acting this way since April! I was able to get a good picture of the “screaming” bird!

Red Tailed Hawk

Now that we are moving into summer, so many more plants are flowering and the pollinators are out in full force! I really love macro photography, and I am planning on working on this skill over the summer. Right now my favorite walk is through a field just covered in red clover and Ohio spiderwort. The gray dogwood is also blooming, and quite a few asters are blooming. I saw Rudbekia (brown-eyed Susan) and some fleabane as well as some beautiful members of the rose family including wild strawberry!

Ohio Spiderwort
Red Clover
Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

I also saw so many bees and dragonflies! It was so much fun to try to “catch” them with my camera. I saw a few Yellow-legged Meadowhawks, lots and lots of twelve-spotted skimmers.

Yellow-legged Meadowhawks

Twelve-spotted skimmer
Virginia Ctenucha (that’s it’s common name!). It’s a type of wasp moth (not as scary as it sounds!)

Historical information and arrangements from Music by Black Composers (MBC) Violin Volume 1. Published by Ludwig Masters Publications 2018. Rachel Barton Pine Foundation.

New Morning

That’s what I’m hoping for! I’m hoping for peace and reconciliation – of all people and all of creation. Here is Wren’s hymn of comfort…

Speaking of new mornings! The cicadas are starting to wake up! We are experiencing a cicada emergence here! I know most people don’t like these, but I think they are very cool! I can’t believe that these insects are older than my child! They have been developing underground for 17 years. The nymphs have been feeding on tree roots for the past 17 years, and have emerged since our ground temperature is now over 64F. I had fun exploring today and seeing every above-ground stage! My family thinks I’m kidding when I say we are having these for dinner! Insect protein is a very important food source in a lot of the world. Cicadas are actually pretty good! I think they taste like almonds… Cyclical insect emergences provide big nutrition boosts to people and wildlife alike! Be on the lookout for healthy bird, squirrel and chipmunk populations – they will all take advantage of all of the cicadas!! Want to read more? Check out this page!

Nymph – arriving above-ground
Adult emerging
Emerged adult – wings unfurled – waiting to dry
exoskeleton of nymph
so many cicadas have emerged!!
Adult – able to fly

P.S. I guess there is some risk in eating cicadas…thanks to pollution. Because they are underground for 17 years, they would have time to absorb and retain any toxins in the soil. So, eat at your own risk… I’m still tempted!

I Love Thy Kingdom

I know this words of this hymn were not necessarily intended to be about nature (creation):

I love thy kingdom, Lord
the house of thine abode,
the church of our blest Redeemer saved
with his own precious blood.

Many Christians emphasize “church” and ignore the “house of thine abode.” We, the church, are called to love and care for creation, this “dwelling place.” In Colossians we read:

For in him all things were created:
things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones
or powers or rulers or authorities;
all things have been created through him and for him.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together…
…and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace through his blood on the cross.
Colossians 1:16-17; 20

I understand this to mean that Christ will come to reconcile all things! Not just humans, and what beautiful things our creator has made… (I saw all of these amazing things in less than 1 hour!)

Sandhill Cranes
Sandhill Crane and colt (look closely and you’ll learn a little about crane diets!)
Indigo Bunting
House Finch
Goldfinch
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