How's your June, dear reader?
Inspired by last year's trip to an insectarium in Montréal, I'm attempting to foster my own praying mantis habitat as well as raise a few Dynastes tityus, or the eastern Hercules beetle, from its adorable grub stage (L3 instar) hopefully to adulthood. It would be difficult to explain the various appeals these endeavors hold for me, but in general it comes down to a deep sense of wonder and peace I feel in observing their delicate, instinctive little ways.
I go out to the desert whenever I can. There's much to see amidst that canvas of barren, baked land, where clarity and the extent of physical limits abound. I love being alone with my thoughts and love coming across creatures to stop and observe: some toiling ant, some hand-standing beetle, some thin, mesmerized snake. I have great respect for anything that survives out there, all those scrubby bushes clinging to their branches of pale, dubious green. How can I not keep trying to make something better of myself as I meekly pass them by?
We found a baby bird in our backyard the other day, fallen from his nest. He may not win any beauty contests, but he is strange, resilient, and still. A flock of his species hover nearby, scolding loudly when we come to feed him and it's occurred to me that in caring for this nestling, I'm only propagating that awful noise. Oh well. What else can be done when a scruffy little bird looks at you and opens his beak?
Dear reader, it pains me I so rarely come here anymore. Life is busier, it seems, laden with more cares and greater priorities demanding my time, but I think of this place often. It's more a state of mind, where I can pause to consider words and how I love them, where my thoughts about life and its deeper meanings have a moment to reflect, where doors open to memories and places I've been so I can close my eyes and visit them once again.
I hope you're having a wonderful summer, finding goodness in the midst of everything else that goes on. Perhaps spend a few moments outside today, there are tiny miracles everywhere and the beauty is free for all.