Wing-ed Treasures

"My profession is always to be alert to find God on nature,

to know God's lurking places to attend to all the oratorios and the operas in nature."

~ Henry David Thoreau

One fine Spring day, we sat on the patio with our morning coffee. Enjoying the show of many birds as they swooped in for a share of their favourite breakfast seeds, weren't we surprised when one of our resident tree swallows landed on my husband’s white garden hat (which sat atop his head at the time).

Apparently tree swallows like white feathers to build their nests with, so maybe Mr. Swallow thought Rick's hat was a big feather. What a treat to see him fearlessly perched within arm's reach. How pretty were his iridescent feathers as they glimmered in the sunshine.

Not long after that day, I found a large bumblebee struggling on the floor in my living room. I assume he'd been trying to get back 'out there' where he belonged, to no avail. I scooped him up with a tumbler glass and paper, so I could set him down in the garden to recover. But he crawled off the paper onto my finger and sat a moment, his little body heaving. I said a little prayer for him in case he was injured, and then suddenly he spread his tiny wings and flew away.

I love these encounters with nature's tiny creatures—they are such an amazing and beautiful part of our world. So small we almost don't notice... unless we stop to look.

Too many wilderness places around us are being razed to the ground for 'new developments'..... and rather than going into a lament or a rant about it (I do on occasion quite often), we are trying to remain serene as we remember we do create a little haven in our corner of the world for a few of these, God's wing-ed treasures.

I'm glad our paths cross with these wondrous ones.

Wishing you glimpses in those unexpected places,
Brenda
xox

Photo source:  Brenda Leyland