Category: Mother Nature

March 2024 Garden Update

The Japanese Cherry trees are blooming early.
The pink in front is very old.

When looking out our front bay window,
all we see is pink covering the branches.
It spreads dominantly across our view.

The white cherry in the back garden are daughter
saplings from the older trees that had to be cut down. The fluffy white spreads out joyously, fulfilling their family legacy.

The little dwarf iris you see here were planted as  bulbs long ago. Six were planted, though I never see more than two or three.Their bloom is brief.
These two were spotted early morning on a dreary rainy day by the mailbox.It was voting day, and I had an early morning errand to run.
Their appearance cheered me up. My reward for such an early morning.

The Camellia japonica is named "Kramer's Supreme".
It is planted in the back garden in front of my bedroom window. This past Friday I spotted the first fully opened flower. I cut the branch to bring the flower inside to spread cheer and beauty to us all.

Hippocampus Secrets

There used to be a National Aquarium in Washington, D.C. It was located at 1401 Constitution Ave., Washington, D.C. It was permanently closed September 30, 2013. Fortunately we were able to visit it before it was closed.

I was especially drawn to the seahorses. Their bright yellow coloration made them stand out in the dark. The pair stayed close to each other and often wrapped their tails around one another.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since this time, I have learned that the scientific genus name for seahorse is called Hippocampus. In neuroscience the hippocampus is a structure hidden within our human brain. We have two hippocampi, one in each cerebral hemisphere. The hippocampal neurons string together the past and future in our minds. It forms part of our limbic system which is associated with hunger, pain, pleasure, satisfaction, sex, and instinctive motivation. I imagine the hippocampus holds many secrets.

Another resident of the D.C. aquarium was this sea turtle. I imagine it also holds some secrets somewhere, though it does not have a hippocampus in its brain, nor do the seahorses from our seas.

On The Wall

A motion-less mantis poses in full regalia, possibly dead, or perhaps stunned.

One antennae wrapped around an eye must be an indication of an unseen fight.

The brightly patterned wings of this Carolina mantis are stuck in an open position.

Will it fly again?

I walked away unsure of its fate.

The next day it was gone, possibly eaten, or perhaps it recovered and flew away.

The Spin is All that Matters

I ran across a bag of wooden spools the other day. They were in a box of odds and ends that had made it into our garage when we were cleaning out my mother in law’s house of forty years. She has been gone for many years now, and yet her memory is still alive in various things we still have around.

The wooden spools are all bare now. All the thread was used up in antique wares. I’m sure they were saved in hopes of being made into future crafts. They could be used since their simple beauty was still apparent. The wooden spools had been made from dead biological life, and thus they still had value.

Long before the wood was cut and shaped, it pulsed with life and color, and with a continuous exchange of gases from within and without. These spools are cylindrical in shape with a hole that runs from end to end. They can be linked together to form a chain. They can be made into decorations, and strung around a living tree, still breathing and growing. They can be assembled with other materials to make a vehicle since all spools can roll.

There is a big hand in all of this, coordinating, designing, and engineering all of it. A mind is needed to oversee it all. I call this mind, God, and I like to sit and contemplate his intentions. I think God is the original, the first and the ultimate one to recycle and reuse. To him the Blue Planet is a woman, and she is still a work in progress for him. His mind has become entangled with hers, and he cannot let go of her, at least not yet. His death will be her death and vice versa.

Cowrie, Cowry, Kauri

(picture from Wikipedia.)  220px-Cowrie_shells_-_sozhi_roll_of_3

I found a small, smooth and shiny shell today. It was lying on the floor near my foot. I picked it up, and then slipped it in my pocket for later inspection. I’d gotten into the habit of doing this back in the days when I thought I could divine messages from found objects.

When the time came for further inspection, I recognized it as a common shell that I’d seen many times throughout my life: in shell games, jewelry, and other crafts. My specific shell is about an inch long, and it has a teardrop shape. Its colors are softly hued.  It has a pale silver teardrop in the middle surrounded by a thin line of orange-red, and beyond that on the edges and under-side it is a soft sand color. Its top is domed, and the under side is flat with a slightly curved opening winding down the middle with small ridges on both sides.

I knew it had to have a name, but I could not remember what it was. I did a little online searching and was soon able to answer my own question. Its name is Cowry aka Cowrie or in Hindu Kauri. They come in various sizes and color patterns. I had to smile when I read that it is the shell of a sea snail. The snail has become somewhat of a totem or animal spirit for me this past year or so.

I also found it strangely coincidental that I found it a day before the start of Diwali – the Festival of Lights in India. I read that the Kauri shells are seen as a symbol of the Goddess Lakshmi. I don’t know very much about these things, but they do intrigue me.

At the end of a tiring work day, I like to let my imagination ponder the spirit of Lakshmi running through my life and mind. I’ll save my found shell and place it somewhere special.