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The ending of sorrow is the beginning of true and intelligent wisdom.
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[These are wildflower Chinese Lantern plants. They were found growing in a prairie near a local pond.]
Small but beautiful! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Simple acts to help others, physical action to end suffering, and acting to help Mother Earth with actual deeds… is likely worth more than a million people praying.
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[Close-up study of a Begonia (Scarlanda green-red) in the outdoor garden of a large hospital/medical center.]
Begonia (Scarlanda green-red) Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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The mind can often be the beautiful space between two thoughts… without symbolic representations, without effort.
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[Diminutive insects on a Viola Flower in the fall season. Despite the cold weather during each night, the Viola Flower and the insects seem to be thriving during the day.]
Impervious to cold. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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True enlightenment occurs as actual, immense energy… not as mere ideas, symbols, and patterns “about energy.”
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[This Grasshopper has less “hair” (on his face, legs, and back) than I do!]
Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Peace never comes by mindlessly clinging to separative groups or leaders.
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[This is a Sheepshead Mushroom with a Midge Fly resting on it (to the left). The Sheepshead Mushroom is edible and is considered to be one of the best tasting mushrooms. They tend to grow at the base of Oak Trees.]
Resting on a Sheepshead. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Hate and indifference involves separation, distance, and a lack of compassion.
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[In cooler weather, Katydids often cling to the sides of houses or garages for extra warmth. Katydids have excellent climbing abilities. This one is clinging to the warm, reflective side of a garage… an effective way to beat the cold!]
Wall Walker! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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It’s likely best to be rather low-key and unnoticeable. For, in the long run, you will (especially if you are wise) really impress no one except yourself.
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[There is, within this flower, and unobtrusive, little winged insect… a Hover Fly… having the time of his life! There’s also an inconspicuous ant there too!]
Beyond the Camera Eye and Superficial Fame! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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The key to understanding life is not made to fit the rigid lock of powerful authority.
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[The Spotted Jewelweed is an annul plant native to North America. The Spotted Jewelweed likes to grow along creeks and rivers; this one is growing along a creek flowing into a nearby river. The Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) was transported in the 19th and 20th centuries to England, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Finland, and potentially other areas of northern and central Europe. These naturalized populations persist in the absence of any effort of cultivation by people.]
Love is the key. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Hugging trees is great. But hugging the elderly and those with handicaps is even better!
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[This is a batch of Chicken of the Woods mushroom with little, winged-insects upon it. When I was out in the woods, photographing, I spotted this beauty from a quite a distance. One then thought: “Of course, it’s such a treasure, that it will be surrounded by my arch-enemy… poison ivy!” Upon approaching the Chicken of the Woods, I then observed that it was, indeed, surrounded by many patches of poison ivy. I carefully took each step towards the Chicken of the Woods, with extreme caution and deliberation. It was unreal; it was like walking through a puzzle (or working on a computer game)! Patches of poison ivy where everywhere! When I finally got to my prize, there was (of course) a big, tall plant of poison ivy right in front of it. I had to bend, with my camera, to get a decent shot. Getting out of the area was equally difficult; each step was a precarious, carefully calculated maneuver toward attaining freedom and safety! When I finally got home, I washed up using a special anti-poison ivy cleaning soap. I didn’t get any rashes! Whew!]
Chicken of the Woods surrounded by my arch enemy… poison ivy. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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No amount of words can ever relate the profound immensity of what true enlightenment entails; it is beyond words, descriptions, and beliefs.
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[Fall Oak Leaves]
Fall Oak Leaves. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Whenever nature may fall… it always springs back again. It is ever renewing.
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Fall by the Creek. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
Fall Creek Leaves. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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A simple smile is often the kindling to intense and blazing compassion (that uplifts others).
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[These are the Sporophytes of moss upon a moist, large log in the middle of the forest. Sporophytes begin to grow by cell division out of the top of the archegonium on the female gametophyte moss plant… at which point it’s a parasite on the gametophyte plant, although it may produce some of its own food by photosynthesis in the early stages of growth.
Sporophytes consist of three basic structures, a foot, which anchors it to the gametophyte and helps to transfer water and nutrients from the gametophyte, a long erect stalk called a seta, and a pod-like capsule at the top-end where reproductive spores are produced. There is a Daddy-Long-Legs at the very bottom left of the photo, which can be seen partially; it is likely waiting for the many insects that crawl across moss. The larger leaves are not a different species of moss. They are the same species… and grow wider when more moisture is present in their immediate area. When moss gets flooded, it changes its shape, getting wider and more broad leaves.]
Sporophytes galore! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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There was a wise man… and every time he bent down, the whole world (including all the people, animals, and plants) bent down.
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[This Goldenrod is being bent over by the wind… not by the weight of the Hover Flies upon it. Hover Flies seek nectar from wildflowers, such as this Goldenrod, which is growing along the periphery of a local, nutrient-rich, rural pond.]
Bending together. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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If one doesn’t exist primarily in (and “as”) the present now… one is living in the past.
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[This Lady Bug is getting ready to leave a dried out Thistle Plant. Probably the Lady Bug had been searching for small insects to feed upon (that were nesting within the seed pod).]
Leaving Lady! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Thought is a wonderful tool, but if that’s all you exist as… you are immured in the confines of your own, limited prison.
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[This is the central part of a garden flower. The golden Stamen are holding up well to the recent cold weather. Stamen are the pollen filaments of flowers.]
Golden Stamen. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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A highly prejudicial mind is like a coldly crafted puppet or a thoughtlessly made, prefabricated building; it was constructed to be what it is (by others).
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[This is a very large Fishing Spider on a post of our Gazebo (at night) guarding its large egg sac. This Fishing Spider must have been over 2 inches long and its egg sac was also very large. It looks like it must have took a long time to carefully and skillfully form that huge egg sac. I was looking for spiders to photograph and was resting the camera against the post to get a steady shot of a smaller spider… when I suddenly came face to face with this huge creature! Nothing easily startles me… but this kind of did!]
Not an itsy bitsy spider by any means! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Fear of things
can ruin your dreams
make you sweat
and fill you with Screams.
Compromised order
in the middle of the night
grind your teeth,
startle with Fright.
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[This bat-like moth looks like it could be a Waved Sphinx Moth. Larvae of the Waved Sphinx Moth feed on Ash, Privet, and Lilacs. (Don’t look too closely above the moth, to the right; a little webbing seems to be face-like… which won’t help one’s dreams!)]
Bat-like Waved Sphinx Moth. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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from Emily Dickinson:
A Spider sewed at Night
Without a Light
Upon an Arc of White.
If Ruff it was of Dame
Or Shroud of Gnome
Himself himself inform.
Of Immortality
His Strategy
Was Physiognomy.
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[This is a Black and Yellow Argiope Spider. We call them Banana Spiders here in the Midwest. Each Black and Yellow Argiope Spider carries an ominous, rather demonic set of images on its dorsal side… a clear message saying: “Don’t mess with me!”]
Positioned “head down” as is typical for these and related species. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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The thrown rock creates the ripples, but the ripples of thought create the ego (i.e., the so-called central “I”).
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[This is a Banded Argiope Spider – with ripples of colors – waiting for prey in a perfect web that she has spun. The Banded Argiope Spider is a large spider and is related to the Black and Yellow Argiope Spider (i.e., the Banana Spider). Their expertly woven webs have crossed, zigzag bands running through them that are very thick. It is thought that these have the dual function of attracting certain insects – since they reflect a lot of ultraviolet light that certain insects are attracted to – and for warning low flying birds. (Humans cannot see in the ultraviolet range.) I used to have a lot of these spiders crawling all over me when out in the fields photographing (and didn’t mind it at all); but now I am better at spotting and avoiding the webs and going around them. Many of these spiders are well over and inch long. It is common for them to wait in the web with their head down. Note the webbing to the left and right of this spider.]
A real tiger. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Do not merely look through the screen of fragmentation that was instilled within (and “as”) your mind.
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[This is not, as many might think, a Monarch Butterfly. It is a Viceroy Butterfly, resting at the base of an Oak Tree along some moss. Unlike Monarchs, Viceroy Butterflies do not migrate south for the winter. Viceroy Butterflies overwinter as caterpillars, resting inside rolled leaves. Once the weather gets a bit colder, this Viceroy will likely perish; but its caterpillar offspring will survive the winter to emerge as new, splendid butterflies.]
At the end of an excellent life! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Nothing is scarier than our elected politicians!
😉
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from E. E. Cummings:
hist whist
little ghostthings
tip-toe
twinkle-toe
little twitchy
witches and tingling
goblins
hob-a-nob hob-a-nob
little hoppy happy
toad in tweeds
tweeds
little itchy mousies
with scuttling
eyes rustle and run and
hidehidehide
whisk
whisk look out for the old woman
with the wart on her nose
what she’ll do to yer
nobody knows
for she knows the devil ooch
the devil ouch
the devil
ach the great
green
dancing
devil
devil
devil
devil
wheeEEE
Marbled Orb Weaver Spider. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Don’t lead a skeleton’s life. Ensure that your action has real meaning!
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[This is the remnant skeletal framework of a plant growing along the river bank in the fall season. A diminutive spider can be seen with his handiwork.]
Plant Skeleton. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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What you perceive is not, psychologically, separate from what you are.
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[These are Mycena haematopus mushrooms growing along a river bank.]
Far from the beaten path. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Don’t see people as draft horses to pull heavy loads for you; see them as thoroughbreds that are splendid companions.
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[This Burying Beetle is feeding upon a Bracket Mushroom. It would also gladly feed on horse dung or other such material, as well as animal carrion, fallen fruit, and decaying vegetable matter. They are part of nature’s disposal service. The Burying Beetle is mainly found in wooden habitats.]
Fungus Feeder (1). Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
Fungus Feeder (2). Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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If you go through life in a slapdash, careless manner, you’ll not only overlook the beauty of nature, but you’ll also overlook the beauty of helping others kindly.
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[This Common Wood Nymph Butterfly is resting on a leaf. The coloration and size of the Common Wood Nymph Butterfly changes throughout its range in America. It is not so common any more, unfortunately.]
Not so common any longer. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Each day, effortlessly watch every moment of thought and perception… and do so without the needless and conflicting separation between the “perception” and the “perceiver.”
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[These are soybean plants in a local farm field, dry and ready for harvest. (Soy milk in the making!)]
Ready for harvest! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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True free will (i.e., freedom involving thought/thinking) is a phenomenon that — if it truly exists — breaks free from the cause & effect parameters of the cosmos… which, if one is at all honest, is not likely whatsoever, in any way, shape, or form. However, in profound and deep silence, an immense, timeless energy can appear (i.e., arrive)… that is truly free and not part of a conditioned cause-effect continuum.
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[This is a Leopard Frog among the dead leaves of fall; interestingly, this frog croaked many times… and is still very much alive. 😉 ]
He kicked the bucket more than once! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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There is a much deeper dimension to life than what most people think or consider.
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[These are a form of bracket fungus called Polypores on a fallen log (with some leaves of fall upon them). Most Polypores inhabit tree trunks or branches consuming the wood, but some soil-inhabiting species form myycorrhia – a symbiotic relationship with the roots of trees, wherein they blend with the roots intracellularly (i.e., within the wood-root cells) or extracellulary. Polypores and their relatives, corticioid fungi, consist as part of the most important agents of wood decay. Thus they play a very significant role in nutrient and carbon cycles of forest ecosystems.]
Some Bracket Fungus among us! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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The divisive notion of “us” and “them” causes wars.
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[This photo is of a Lady Bug feeding upon berries of Pokeweed… (also called Poke Salad, Poke Sallet, or Polk Weed). All parts of Pokeweed are poisonous, but (especially in the South) a lot of people boil and reboil the plant many times to leach out the toxins; then it is eaten. The berries are the least toxic part of the plant, though children have gotten sick from eating them. Pokeweed is being looked into as a possible cure for cancer and other diseases. Research has shown that pokeweed contains a compound that appears to enhance the immune system and has some anti-cancer effects in animals. Elvis Presley sang a song about this plant… “Polk Salad Annie” (‘gators got your granny).]
Sock a little Polk Salad to him. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Wake up (with awareness) in the morning, bright-eyed and bushy tailed!
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[This fly (bright-eyed and bushy tailed) is called an Early Tachinid Fly. Unlike the undesirable, disease-carrying, common flies, this species hangs around flowers and drinks nectar (as do butterflies). The Early Tachinid Fly is most often seen in meadows and open woodlands full of wildflowers.]
Bright eyed and bushy tailed. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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One oftentimes has to unlearn the erroneous conditioning that was hammered into one’s core and foundation.
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[This Harvestman – some call them Daddy-long-legs – is resting on a leaf. Harvestmen (Daddy-long-legs) are not spiders. Spiders have two main body segments. Harvestmen have one. Harvestmen do have eight legs like spiders… but theirs are usually much longer.]
A Daddy with Long Legs. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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If you deeply care… then the universe is deeply caring.
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[This is a close-up shot of moss growing on a fallen tree stump in the woods. I’ll post this same type of moss (with spore shoots sprouting out) at a later time.]
The rolling stone gathers none. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Look with what is deeper than what can see; listen with what is deeper than what can hear.
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[Leaf-footed Bug adults are active from late summer through fall in weedy fields and along the edges of woodlands. The Leaf-footed Bug is fond of a variety of trees, shrubs, and flowers, including hawthorns, goldenrods, and Joe-pye weed.]
Good at leaf walking! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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The supple mind goes beyond pigeonholing others and coming to dead-end conclusions.
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[These are the small, fruiting parts of a large underground fungus.]
Mushroom burst. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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To psychologically die (each and every day) to endless fears and separative images… is living wisdom.
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[This is, because of the enlarged pedipalps, a male spider… probably a Grass Spider. Pedipalps have sensitive chemical detectors and function as taste and smell organs, supplementing those on the legs. In males, the pedipalps are enlarged, functioning as organs for reproductive purposes.]
Oh, that movie-star face! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Direct perception is timeless; it’s instantaneous. Greed, hatred, envy, and comparison all take time.
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[This is a Potter Wasp, some Hover Flies, a small wild Fly, and a Soldier Beetle. Potter Wasps make nests of mud that are pot-like. (They were all circling around the flower cluster, but the Soldier Beetle didn’t get the direction right!)]
Time for nectar energy! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Compassion is expansive and all-containing; hate and selfishness… narrow and confined.
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[These very small beetles are feeding on a Thistle Plant. These are likely Carpet Beetles. Carpet Beetles eat indoor carpets, woolens, cottons, and synthetic materials contaminated with organic fluids such as sweat. However, they prefer to eat dead insects and spiders, and they can devastate scientific specimens in university and museum collections. Outdoors, they feed on flower pollen and secretions from plants.]
Carpet Beetles far from carpets. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Each one of us, if we are at all honest, is (in many ways) beautiful… and each one of us has elements of bad and ugly habits.
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[This fall foliage is beautiful. It is an old friend… whom I try to avoid, however. This is a batch of Poison Ivy. Sometimes, just being in the woods near it (even though I know what it looks like and avoid it) is enough to give me terrible, endless rashes. This year, my arthroscopic knee surgery was delayed… due to a case of Poison Ivy rash. I once received information about how a man encountered a woman carrying a batch of it; she was a teacher… and wanted “pretty leaves” to share with her classroom!]
Beauty and the Beast all wrapped up into one. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Vast freedom occurs beyond limited narrow-mindedness.
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[This Grasshopper is placidly resting on a flowering Thistle Plant. Grasshoppers do not generally feed on Thistle Plants, though they may devour the flower sections.]
A beautiful place to be! Grasshopper on Thistle Plant. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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There are no separate (isolated) pieces to the universal puzzle… once you see the golden whole.
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[This is a Hover Fly on a wild Sunflower Plant. This Hover Fly is likely searching for flower nectar (and is distributing pollen as part of a symbiotic relationship).]
Psychologically, the perceiver and the perceived are one. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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My biggest vice (according to my wife) — and the observer is the observed — is that of purchasing too many fossils. Perhaps, thinking a few words would be sufficient (instead of getting the fossils)… fossils being fixed impressions of the past. Words – all words – are symbolic representations from the memory bank (i.e., from the stored, dead past).
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[These are Micro-mushrooms growing on a healthy Lichen covered, large Oak Tree. These diminutive mushrooms are around 2 mm in total length.].
Stairway to Heaven (lyrics & video by Led Zeppelin):
There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for.
Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven.
There’s a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.
There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who stand looking.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.
And it’s whispered that soon, if we all call the tune,
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long,
And the forests will echo with laughter.
If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now,
It’s just a spring clean for the May queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on.
And it makes me wonder.
Your head is humming and it won’t go, in case you don’t know,
The piper’s calling you to join him,
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven.
Another Stairway to Heaven. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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The separation between yourself and your fears is as illusory as the separation between the idea of “me” and the idea of “others.”
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[Who has been eating these beautiful wildflowers? One need not look very far for the answer!]
At the scene of the crime. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Warm affection used for ulterior means is often cold and calculating; beware of false, mechanical reactions, including your own (such as in selfish self-adoration) !
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[Some Daddy-Long-Legs – or Harvestmen – eat vegetable matter and mushrooms, but some are carnivorous. This Havestman (with dull, dark, leaden eyes) didn’t need to spin a vast, clever web of lies to catch his gullible Fly victim. Daddy-Long-Legs are harmless to humans, but are bad news for germ-carrying (egotistical) flies. Havestmen are not true spiders, but they’re close enough for the inclusion of the following poem:
from Mary Howitt (1799-1888):
“Will you step into my parlor?” said the spider to the fly;
“’Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many pretty things to show when you are there.”
“O no, no,” said the little fly, “to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne’er come down again.”
“I’m sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
Will you rest upon my little bed?” said the spider to the fly.
“There are pretty curtains drawn around, the sheets are fine and thin,
And if you like to rest awhile, I’ll snugly tuck you in.”
“O no, no,” said the little fly, “for I’ve often heard it said,
They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed.”
Said the cunning spider to the fly, “Dear friend, what shall I do,
To prove the warm affection I’ve always felt for you?
I have within my pantry good store of all that’s nice;
I’m sure you’re very welcome; will you please to take a slice?”
“O no, no,” said the little fly, “kind sir, that cannot be;
I’ve heard what’s in your pantry, and I do not wish to see.”
“Sweet creature!” said the spider, “You’re witty and you’re wise!
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
I have a little looking-glass upon my parlor shelf,
If you’ll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself.”
“I thank you, gentle sir,” she said, “for what you’re pleased to say,
And bidding you good-morning now, I’ll call another day.”
The spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly fly would soon be back again:
So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready to dine upon the fly.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing
“Come hither, hither, pretty fly, with the pearl and silver wing:
Your robes are green and purple; there’s a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead.”
Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little fly,
Hearing his wily flattering words, came slowly flitting by.
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue;
Thinking only of her crested head — poor foolish thing! At last,
Up jumped the cunning spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlor; but she ne’er came out again!
And now, dear little children, who may this story read,
To idle, silly, flattering words, I pray you ne’er give heed;
Unto an evil counselor close heart, and ear, and eye,
And take a lesson from this tale of the Spider and the Fly. ]
Gullible Fly! (1) Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
Gullible Fly! (2) Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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On Twitter, a couple of Twitter friends, Kitusai & Bohdan — who happen to be excellent, creative musicians, by the way, (and who go by the Twitter icon-image of two Zebras) — suggested to me that it is good to give others a second chance when they do wrong. However, maybe not always; as I told them: two zebras who give the lioness a second-chance aren’t zebras for very long!
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[If insects were mammals, this Robber Fly would be the lion of our rural area. In our area, I will often see a Robber Fly diligently flying from leaf to leaf, looking for prey to attack. They are very voracious and persistent predators. They will even attack much larger insects than themselves. This one has caught a Blue Damselfly. Blue Damselflies are, themselves, predators of other insects.]
I have nothing against meat eaters! Robber Fly attacking Damselfly. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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The wall that separates you from all of life’s creatures… is (psychologically) composed of what is projected within (and “as”) you.
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[This Wolf Spider (Lycosas gulosa) is clinging to the side of a rock wall. It is tending some lines for potential prey. This particular species of Wolf Spider lives in both the United States and Canada.]
Pink Floyd… The Wall. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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To be sane in an insane world isn’t easy.
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[This small Ant may be biting the leaf to extract juices. Below the Ant is a small, bite-sized hole.]
Walking on a vertical leaf isn’t easy. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Too much blind affection can strangulate the object of such so-called affection.
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Intense Passion! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Compassion is that alive awareness that cares beyond the cadaverous uncaring.
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[This is a small Leafhopper on a cluster of colorful, wild Pigweed seeds. The Leafhoppers in Illinois are all relatively small. Leafhoppers have piercing-sucking mouth parts, which enables them to feed on plant sap. Pigweed is considered a weed and is a nuisance to farmers… but it is edible for humans and is full of nutritious vitamins.]
Down the Up-staircase. (Leafhopper on Pigweed) Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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Untethered freedom is not mesmerized by authority’s lopsided systems and structures… additionally, it is full of deep order, intelligence, and integrity.
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[This is a web-free Crab Spider in Phlox Flowers. Most Crab Spiders do not form webs. Crab Spiders, as we have shown, often change in chameleon-like fashion to suit their needs. They are usually found in flowers, even garden flowers.
Additional note: I will be posting more spiders (and similar creatures) in the Halloween month of October. It is neat that they are part of an old Halloween tradition (that is fun for kids). However, it is unfortunate that many children grow up associating spiders with “being frightened” and as “terrible creatures to be horrified of.” As the late, superb naturalist, Steve Irwin often propounded, spiders and snakes can indeed be seen to be majestic, marvelous animals, truly beautiful in their own ways. We must, as Steve Irwin so graciously suggested before his untimely passing, be far better caretakers of Mother Earth.]
Crabby and waiting! Crab Spider in Phlox Flowers. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
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A small ego and a Big Heart is better than a Big Ego and a small heart.
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[A yellow Katydid. This is a small katydid with a really Large Antenna.]
A Katydid with what may be a large Broadband Antenna. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 