November Musing - Part 3

There comes a time when autumn asks,

"What have you been doing all summer?"

Going out on a limb, and then meeting ourselves coming and going...

 

In August, my dear husband once again called my attention to something he knew I'd want to see. I quickly spied it clinging tightly to the rough wood of a standing planter box. Hidden among the clutter of old pieces of wood and blue tarp, it might easily have been overlooked if not for its brilliant green color.  Carefully observing, studying, and photographing it, I then made an attempt to grab it for a closer look. This little green tree frog depended on heightened awareness for its very survival, so when its supposed camouflage failed, it quickly switched to Plan B: speed and cover. It took me a few minutes of searching and grabbing, but finally I held it in my hand.

We were trying to settle in to what passes as a normal summer for us -maintaining our sizable yard and enjoying a number of local camping trips. But the reality is that this was not a normal summer for us. May had seen us offering some measure of long distance support for the move and settling-in of our brother-in-law near to his youngest daughter. June saw us helping to pack and move my older sister to our area from out-of-state. 

 

 And in between, we'd lived with many weeks of a major overhauling of a large slab of concrete near the back of our house. This served as a floor for both a double carport and a patio area, but it was very old, cracked, chipped, and beyond repair. After seeking expert advice, there was nothing to do but have that whole, huge slab removed and replaced with something better.

 

This brought major disruption, noise, and mess. So much for our normally quiet home...

 

 

Was it worth it? Absolutely!

To better photograph it, I set the little tree frog on a small plant near the ground, thinking I could sit down and focus right in on it.

 

Apparently, the frog had other ideas as it made a flying leap to a nearby red huckleberry bush and began climbing.

 

Several times I caught it and again placed it back on the short plant, but each time it leaped to the bush and continued its upward trek.

Finally, I just tried to photograph it wherever it was perched.

 

"Real action is in silent moments."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I had my usual volunteer activities, some of which require more time and energy in the summer.  

 

As a volunteer beach naturalist, many hours are spent on our local beaches interacting with both children and adults who visit and would like to learn more about sea life.

 

 

As a member of the steering committee for a local nature park being developed in our area, I help with some stewardship work as well as many of the educational events we have there. The hours do add up...

 

 

"A bee is never as busy as it seems;

it's just that it can't buzz any slower."

Kin Hubbard

One thing we did not fully expect was the time involved with our church's new building project. My husband became the self-appointed "official" photographer and made at least one trip a day to the site to capture every stage of the building process.

This took nearly a year and was full of all sorts of ups and downs.

When the building was complete, we had a huge amount of landscaping to do and guess who was on that committee?

Most of what we did was required by the county, so it was not just for looks or our own satisfaction, although the results turned out well.

 

 

 

 

 

We're glad it's all done!

 

 

We did manage to go camping, as planned. Although we live in a rural area, we are not far from two major cities and the surrounding areas teem with population. Because of this and (we surmise)  the current economic conditions, to get a desired camp site with the needed or wanted hookups one really needs to make a reservation months in advance. We had reserved all of our camping sites back in January and, fortunately, we did not need to cancel any.

 

For us - even with planning and packing - getting away to the relative peace and quiet of a campground is well worth the effort. It really is getting back to the basics of simple living - relaxing, enjoying the great outdoors, cooking, eating, and sleeping.

 

 We spend little time inside, choosing to sit outside in camp chairs or taking a drive or hike to see the surrounding countryside.

 

 

We revel in the variety of life on this planet and never cease to be amazed at how well each is adapted to its particular niche.

 

 We breath it all in and find ourselves refreshed and revitalized again and again.

 

"The point is that when I see a sunset or a waterfall or something, for a split second it's so great, because for a little bit I'm out of my brain, and it's got nothing to do with me. I'm not trying to figure it out, you know what I mean? And I wonder if I can somehow find a way to maintain that mind stillness." - Chris Evans.

 The tree frog continued to climb and leap - from one slender branch to the next. It seemed very odd to me that it would choose this spindly bush over the sturdy plant below until it dawned on me - this was a TREE frog. It simply chose the path it was best equipped to deal with.

 

When I find myself overwhelmed with the myriad facets of life - the worries, frustrations, burdens, pain, grief, busyness, and constant changes, I always seek some measure of solitude.

 

 

While digging weeds, I can work out the solution to a problem.

 

 

While walking the beach, I can contemplate ultimate change.

 

 

While standing among trees, I can recognize my true size and importance.

 

 

When my mind is a-swirl and my body racing, instinctively I know what I need - solitude and silence.

 

 

Through these, the ultimate power of life and love and all that is speaks volumes and brings me back to who I am.

 

"When you lose touch with inner stillness,

you lose touch with yourself.

When you lose touch with yourself,

you lose yourself in the world.

Your innermost sense of self, of who you are,

is inseparable from stillness.

This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form."

~Eckhart Tolle

 

 

“Be still, and know that I am God."

Psalm 46:10

Lakeside Genesis

Each year we attend a family camp through our church.

I wrote this as a devotion

to relate that very special place and time

to the creation story in the book of Genesis in the Bible.

*********

More years ago than we can count, it snowed, and froze, and melted, and did this over and over for thousands of years until this land – this very spot – was covered with ice for a long, long, time. The ice scraped the land, moved the rocks and gravel, and finally melted for good – leaving behind this lake which eventually was named “Wildcat.”

And God’s hand was in it all.

The soil was fine and small plants began to grow in the water and on the land. Those plants died and their dried leaves mixed with the fine soil to form a rich, fertile mixture so that larger plants and giant trees could thrive – alders, maples, pines, firs, and hemlocks.

Flowers bloomed and berries ripened – blackberries, raspberries, salmonberries, huckleberries, Oregon grapes and salal.

And God smiled.

Small creatures appeared – insects and spiders of all shapes, sizes and colors; frogs and fish and lizards; mice and moles. Birds flew, pecked and hopped about – chickadees, nuthatches, jays, eagles and osprey, ducks and geese. Squirrels chattered by day, raccoons and coyotes patrolled the night.

And God was pleased.

Forward-thinking people found this particular spot and decided to set it aside for future generations – to make it a haven separate from the steel and concrete of the city;

a quiet retreat from the busy-ness of everyday life where people of all ages could play, rest, and enjoy this creation and each other.

 And I believe God says that this is good.

God blessed them and said to them,

"Be fruitful and increase in number;

fill the earth and subdue it.

Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air

and over every living creature

that moves on the ground."

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

And there was evening, and there was morning

- the sixth day.

Genesis 1:28 & 31

"you are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being."

Revelation 4:11

Twisted for Survival

Joaquim Alves Gaspar

They seemed pretty insignificant, really - tiny pink polka dots of flowers scattered through the grass. Amazing they survived at all, much less bloomed, considering all the other wild grasses, clovers, and dandelions jostling for room and domination. Not to mention the dozens of RVs and countless feet treading there daily. I did not think much of the flowers, only noticed their bright pink color.

We had come on another camping trip to Fort Flagler State Park, on the tip of Marrowstone Island. The weather was “iffy”, as it so often is there, with foreboding clouds approaching from the northwest and strengthening breezes. Lying on the point as it does, this park is vulnerable to some terrific storms and accompanying winds. Much of the campground is open and exposed; the few shore pines that offer a measure of shelter are short and stunted. Although the environment there is somewhat harsh, numerous plant and animals species not only survive, but thrive.

We’d hiked up the steep hill to traverse the trail along a high bluff, passing numerous concrete bunkers left over from Fort Flagler’s heyday. We’d taken a trail new to us down into the housing area, then continued on trails that took us around the perimeter of the entire park, about five miles in all. A great many wildflowers poked up through the greenery and among them, here and there, were the little pink blooms.

Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé

Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz

1885, Gera, Germany

Later, I consulted a field guide to try to identify several of the more unusual plants and trees that we’d seen on our hike. Eventually, and quite by accident, my eyes again landed on those little pink flowers in the grass. I really doubted they’d even be in the book, but decided to see if they could be identified. Surprisingly, I narrowed them down to one of two species - the identifying factor being the seed pod. So into the grass I went, in search of a two-inch-long, sharply-pointed “stork’s bill”. I found several green ones and then what I was looking for - a fully ripe, dried one. Sure enough, just as the book said, the pod broke apart into five identical quarter-inch seeds, each with a hair-thin twisted tail attached. I decided to test what the book said.

Carrying my treasure into the trailer, I filled a small saucer with water and dropped the seeds in. As we watched, each of those cork-screwed tails slowly straightened out until each seed resembled a tiny arrow. Lifting them out and onto a dry paper towel, we watched in amazement as each of them dried and twisted back into the spiral corkscrew shape that it had when found. In fact, they squirmed and jerked with each twist!

Although introduced here, these tiny seeds of the Common Stork’s-Bill, or Filaree, come equipped to drive themselves into the soil as a way for this species to survive the rigors of a place such as Marrowstone Island. As the weather around them alternates between dry and wet, they alternately twist and straighten their long tails so that the arrow point of a seed finds its mark.

 

When you sow,

you do not plant the body that will be,

but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

But God gives it a body as he has determined,

and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

1 Corinthians 15:37 - 38

‘...You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence’

Acts 2:28

First and third picture files from Wikimedia Commons