Each new summer morning in Florida, we, the grups, thrust our heavy legs out of bed and force ourselves to walk while the day is still cool and before the thunderstorms begin to build. We might not spring up as well as we once did, but once the coffee takes effect, inertia has been overcome, and we are almost as good as new again. Motion lotion gets us out of doors and into the early morning light where we find Nature stretching her legs too. We recognize another combatant once more waging war against entropy. The orchard orbweaver, Leucauge venusta, has been busy weaving all night while we slept. She may be tiny now, but she has a voracious appetite for lots of things, maybe even what a bean-eating caterpillar has wrought. Now I see in the photo above why those lovely green beans in my garden went missing and what they have been sacrificed for--el Arte--a long-tailed skipper--Urbanus proteus.
"All Nature's apparent reverses have been but tactical withdrawals. We thought we were beating her back when she was luring us on. What looked to us like hands held up in surrender was really the opening of arms to enfold us for ever...."
**************************************************************
"Every conquest over Nature increases her domain. The stars do not become Nature till we can weigh and measure them: the soul does not become Nature till we can psycho-analyze her. The wresting of powers from Nature is also the surrendering of things to Nature. As long as this process stops short of the final stage we may well hold that the gain outweighs the loss. But as soon as we take the final step of reducing our own species to the level of mere Nature, the whole process is stultified, for this time the being who stood to gain and the being who has been sacrificed are one and the same...." (from C. S. Lewis' The Abolition of Man, 1947)
**************************************************************
Please visit Rambling Woods for this week's Nature Notes and see what other bloggers have been inspired by in nature.
Just lovely! I sit here sucking down my coffee, waiting for the same sort of energy. ;-) I envy anyone who has a butterfly sit still for them, by the way...
ReplyDeleteThe long tailed skipper is interesting. Much prettier than the skippers I see up here. The spicer...not so much;)
ReplyDeleteGoing to be a great weekend here. Temps in the 70's. Love this weather, energizing;)
Marnie
Great! It 's really wonderful to come with you in the nature.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend! Wurzerl
RJ, the butterfly was a bit of a challenge at first. I followed it from plant to plant and was about to call it quits when it finally settled for more than a few seconds on the vinca. I was glad because it contrasted so well with the white flower. Now the spider wasn't a bit shy, but she was probably just too worn out from her nighttime activity to run away.
ReplyDeleteMarnie, spiders have their good points too. And they don't wreak havoc on my veggies. Enjoy the weekend weather!
Thank you, Wurzerl! It's good to see your comment. I hope your garden has recovered from the wild spring weather.
I love the way you find selections from literature to add to your posts. Much better than my quotes I think, but I am too lazy to take the next step....You added to my vocabulary and posted one of my new favorite subjects..Orb weavers... I have one to post, but the photos aren't as clear as yours... Thank you for posting to Nature Notes. --Michelle--
ReplyDeleteI need to buy stock in motion lotion lately now let me tell you. Lovely post.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is so cool! I love the literature additions to each post...I am someone who constantly buys high school literature books at thrift stores to read the stories! I must read more of C.S, Lewis, for sure...you are giving more reading bug!
ReplyDeleteLove your butterfly and spider pics! I can hardly wait to get back out in nature and find some great goodies to share! Soon, very soon!
Have a nice weekend!!!
It looks like this weekend will be shaping up to 'challenging' more than anything else. It's a relief to come over here and see the pretty pictures and nice words...
ReplyDeleteI'm slow at waking up too: coffee is a key ingredient, but even then, it takes me an hour or so to shake into full life mode (on the other side: I usually stay up until midnight).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle. It's a pleasure to post on your meme. This blog began with a garden theme, but it has "morphed" into much more than that. Nature blogs like yours have taught me to be more interested in all of the critters that inhabit my little piece of the world. I'll be looking for your orb weaver post.
ReplyDeleteTina, I'm not quite sure how to interpret that statement ("buy stock in motion lotion"), but I'll play it safe and guess that the summer heat has taken a toll on your energy level. Would iced coffee make a difference?
Thanks, Julie. You've given me a good idea with the reading bug. Micah has begun to develop some fear of bugs, and I need to figure out a way to turn it into an interest instead.
Claude, I hope your weekend was not too challenging. I've been challenged by too little time for blogging lately, but I guess it's not necessarily a bad thing. Except that I don't get around to visiting everyone as much as I like to.
Mr. S, I was a persistent late-nighter too for years, but SAM has helped me see the error of my ways. Apparently, I was missing out on a lot of neat stuff, especially outdoors in the early morning light.
Someday I'll slow down ... actually, what I mean is that every morning I am very slow: especially today (Monday). I needed a cup of coffee and then some.
ReplyDeleteHow much does one of your legs weigh? ;~P
ReplyDeleteMr. S., morning slowness doesn't discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, or gender. It's an equal opportunity offender.
ReplyDeleteIs is polite to ask a lady that question, TC? I've never actually been able to separate them from my torso. Now that you've pinned me to the mat on the matter, though, I'll hazard a guess that their combined weight accounts for at least half of the total. Geez! Now I see why I'm so good at dragging my feet.
Fascinating observations and thoughts on nature. Love the quotes, too.
ReplyDeleteIt's tea for me but it does give me the same energy that you write about. We mostly have dull-looking skippers here but of late I've seen some with a dash of colour. Yours look interesting. Always enjoy reading the quotes in your posts. Loved the second photo too.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and notes on Nature! Haven't visited your site in a while, and I enjoyed getting somewhat caught up. Hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteMarie