Little Gifts

Mother Nature.
Father Time.

We never know what little gifts the day may hold for us. I am not sure if this is the hairy slug thing, which I had posted about earlier, that has come to age or what...but it was perched upon my shop entry.

Pink, beige, brown, yellow and an airbrushing of white around the exterior edges, this baby was huge and had a main body which appeared to be covered in a soft fur.

Its head had two appendages which looked like feathers and it's back had two eyes which were so detailed it seemed as if they were looking back at me.

When its wings were open, its span was as big as my hand and it looked like it felt like suede.

I have no idea what it is exactly, but I know its truly beautiful.


Ever notice how some of the most beautiful people you've ever met become downright ugly over time, and the plain ones start to seem quite lovely after awhile?

I tried to ID it at the Bug Guide , but discovered that there are over 11, ooo species of butterflies and moths in North America only.

Riptide

rip·tide (-tīd′)

noun

a current opposing other currents, producing violently disturbed water; esp., the strong, narrow flow of sea water that rushes seaward after incoming waves pile up on the shore

This photo shows an early morning riptide before the high tide came in to conceal it. Riptides, such as this, caused over 170 lifeguard rescues in one day, for swimmer fatigue. Momma always told us, to get out of the pull of a riptide, swim at an angle, lest it take us away. Riptides change the shape and form of the beach & stir things up a bit.

Sometimes, in life, when we move against the current, we carry more power and strength than we know.

It's just my shell.
I stepped into it the day I was born and hopefully I will step out of it on the day I die.
Otherwise, I am just a ghost trapped in this body and what I perceive to be my protective shell is nothing but a cage...

The Dirt, the Sun and a Field of Free Wishes

My favorite fresh cut flowers were actually weeds, gathered roadside from a drainage ditch and clumped together in a rusty old tin can from the same ole murky ditch.

Maybe a month or so ago, while walking after dark, I came across a field filled with weeds reaching for the stars....a field of free wishes.
I didn't make any wishes, instead I just took it all in...
Soaking up the magic of the moment...
The next night, they were all gone...
blown away by the wind.
If Mother Nature made any wishes before she blew them, I bet her wishes will all come true.

Butterflies and bumblebees, hummingbirds and moths, centipedes and frogs, the neighborhood kids and even the squirrels ... we all love to see fresh flowers bloom.

But maybe, just maybe, the dirt and the sun love them the most.

Flowers...
sweet little miraculous reminders to the dirt and the sun,
that they are loved for simply being what they are and simply doing what they do...
I guess, in hindsight, if I could have made a wish it would be...
that we all could learn to live a bit more like the flowers, the dirt and the sun...

So beautiful... I thought it was a butterfly.