North American millipede
Thread waisted wasp
Ladybug
Katydid
Grasshopper
Wheel bug
Praying mantis
“An observant child should be put in the way of things worth observing.” ~Charlotte Mason
Observing
insect
Common Buckeye
I am always thrilled when I come upon a Buckeye. It is my favorite among the butterflies. I like the colors and the bold pattern of the eyespots which are thought to frighten or distract predators.
“I opened two gifts this morning. They were my eyes.” ~Unknown
Living among the duckweed
Some of the flora and fauna living around the duckweed at Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge
“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.” ~David Attenborough
Grasshoppers
“We are by nature observers, and thereby learners. That is our permanent state.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Beauty
“He has made everything beautiful in its time …” Ecclesiastes 3:11
Insects
Music is in all growing things;
And underneath the silky wings
Of smallest insects there is stirred
A pulse of air that must be heard;
Earth’s silence lives, and throbs, and sings.
~George Parsons Lathrop
Spicebush Swallowtail
One morning last week, a beautiful swallowtail was mud-puddling in our back yard. I couldn’t help but grab the camera and take a few shots. 🙂
“We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts.” – William Hazlett
Ichneumon Wasp
“Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” ~Mary Oliver
Eastern Amberwing Dragonfly
“Each season has its joys to treasure, to lift one’s spirits and bring us pleasure.” ~Unknown
Cicada
“Of the many forms that silence takes, the most memorable is the dry husk of the cicada.” ~Jon Davis
walking on a country road 