Sunflowers

It is fascinating to me how swiftly things can shift and shake loose in my mind simply by sitting and watching.

Today I watched a mama and papa house finch decide whether it was safe to bring their babies over to the yard or not. Once they determined it was safe they quietly flew off to the edge of the woods and moved their young from a sweet gum to another sweet gum (significance?). Their young are pretty noisey so I imagine they have to be picky about where and when they take them. Once they were tucked safely into the leaves mama and papa got to work getting them. And the way they showed them what to do - gentle and firm. This is the stuff that will determine whether they survive to adulthood or not.

Life.

It is dramatic.

And infinite in measure.  

The learning is endless.  

In the bird world it is life and death.

In the human world it is life and death.

I'm paying attention and trying to learn.

Are you? 

Dragonfly

Dragonflies are wickedly out of this world.

They can see in every direction.

They can even fly upside down and fly backwards if they need to.

All four of their wings move slightly differently -  their speed and the way they zip through the air.

They are powerful and masterful hunters who are dainty enough that they can practically float on the surface of water.

Very little gets past a dragonfly - they are almost impossible to sneak up on as they can see in almost every direction with their honeycomb eyes;

yet, they just as easily choose to land on you between flights.

They live through all four seasons and go through a dramatic change to become these miniature flying miracles.

I watched this one eat a leaf hopper this morning.