And that seems to be exactly what they are doing. Uniting. In mid-air.
It seems like something has gotten into the birds, butterflies, moths, and dragonflies in central Florida. Something frisky, to be precise. For the past couple of weeks, I look out my window to see birds in brilliant shades of red and blue and yellow engaged in elaborate mating rituals. I see parades of butterflies, soaring around trying to impress each other. I see moths displaying their most spectacular colors and patterns. The other day, I was driving and could see two copulating dragonfly couples spinning through the air. At least, I think they were copulating. Maybe they were just cuddling.
I suppose it is just a natural phenomenon that I am experiencing. I would have thought this frenzy of animal attraction would have happened earlier in the spring, so I did some googling and found out that butterflies and moths tend to emerge from their cocoons in the late spring or early summer. As soon as they emerge from the cocoons, there is apparently a free-for-all designed to keep their genetic material going. Dragonflies supposedly mate during the hottest and wettest time of the year. It is feakin’ Florida. I wonder how they know when it isn’t time to mate? As for the beautiful bird ballets, I had a harder time accounting for those. Googling confirmed that mating usually takes place in the spring. Maybe my fine featherer friends were just feeling left out.
Whatever the timing of this explosion of color and life, it is amazing to behold. Whatever it is, it is perfect. I don’t know why I’ve never noticed it in past years. The grace and peace and inaudible music of the whole panorama is too lovely to describe. It is heart-breaking and heart-healing all at the same time. When one of these vignettes catches my eye outside my dining room window, my brain seems to suspend all activity. I don’t think about what I am seeing… or about anything else, for that matter. My mind and my heart and my soul just live in the beauty of what I am experiencing. My senses overlap- I seem to be able to see sounds, hear sights, taste scents, and touch God.
Maybe that is why I’ve never noticed this phenomenon before now. I’ve not been able to let my senses override my brain enough to fully live in the moment and appreciate this exquisite miracle around me.
I hope it isn’t too weird that I am noticing this. Being so fascinated by free flying creature procreation makes me feel just a little voyeuristic and obscene. On the other hand, the United States Supreme Court decided that one criteria for obscenity was that it didn’t have any “artistic value.” I think my flying friends might be the very essence of “artistic value.”
What miracles have you encountered when you observe nature? Please share your perspective by leaving a comment. In the alternative, you can email me at terriretirement@gmail.com.
Have a miraculous day!
Terri/Dorry 🙂
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Nature is my “church”. There’s a song by singer/songwriter John Wort Hannam called Church of the Long Grass. I’ve always liked that line. Hardly a day goes by without a reminder of the great order of things.
Even though I’ve always been a churchgoer, I love Emily Dickinson’s poem-
Some keep the sabbath going to Church-
I keep it staying at home
With a bobolink for a chorister
And an orchard for a dome.
Isn’t it beautiful to see God’s creation multiplying right in front of our faces….We have elk that are doing the same thing in our area of the continent. What a wonderful world we live in!!!
God gave us a garden, indeed! With His help, we endeavor to be good stewards and delight in His beautiful world!