Today, I was talking with my friend, JoJo, about pines. It turns out he too has a relationship with pines similar to mine. He was telling me today that when he is under the pines he feels calm and like the world is right. (Those are my words of what he was describing to me.) He was telling me about one pine tree in particular that he loves because it makes him think of his dad. As we were talking I was sharing with him my love of the pine warbler. It is my belief they sing to the pines and we are rapidly approaching the time when they begin their spring song. I was telling JoJo they would begin singing soon. The earth will begin stirring in just a few weeks and even though our weather will be cold the light will change and the yellow of spring begin to appear. As I was telling him of their song, as if on cue, one sang. At first, I was not certain of it - maybe it was just my mind making things up. Sure enough as the day grew warmer the pine warbler offered its songs to the pines a few more times. It sang enough for my good friend JoJo to hear it too. Now, he also knows the pine warbler. Maybe he will hear them when he is in his stand of pines and think to himself of how they sing so sweetly to the pine trees.
Gills
Educating the mind, without educating the heart is no education at all.
~Aristotle
Clump
We already have everything we need. There is no need for self improvement. All these trips we lay on ourselves, the heavy duty fearing that we're bad and hoping that we're good, the identities that we so dearly cling to, the rage, the jealousy, and the addictions of all kinds- never touch our basic wealth. They are like clouds that temporarily block the sun. But all the time our warmth and brilliance are right here. This is who we really are. We are one blink of an eye from being fully awake.
~ Pema Chodron 'Start where you are: A Guide to Compassionate Living'
Bumblebee
Bumblebees leave a scent behind on flowers they visit so other bees don't waste their time on flowers that have already been touched. Scent marking reduces the time a bumblebee spends looking for a flower with nectar making them really efficient pollinators.
Brilliant.
Simply brilliant.
