It has been a super windy day and I’m excited to report my first sighting of my beloved red milkweed beetle. I’ve been eagerly awaiting my friends.
This bright damselfly made an appearance, too.
pretty dragonfly
holding on to lavender
you ride the breezes
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
it’s early summer
one of my favorite beetles
makes an appearance
~ Raven Ariana Simons ©2017
Namaste, Namu Amida Butsu, Bright Blessings,
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
~ Raven
“It just may be that the most radical act we can commit is to stay home,” says Terry Tempest Williams. ~ From Terri Windling’s October 1st blog post
Saturday, October 3, 2015 – Mostly overcast with some rain today for the 3rd day of OcPoWriMo. While I rarely follow the prompts, in part because my poetry follows my picture project and it seems haiku (as I play with it) a nice fit, I will say that lately my biggest blocks to my creativity and writing have been more physical than emotional (though there are emotional components that arise out of the physical). They have ranged from dsl connection issues (as most of my writing is here on this blog and on pollinator/earth activism pages I manage on fb), old equipment and failed software, and health issues. It is kind of ironic because this blog originally arose from a daily photo project I started on Facebook on January 4, 2012 to help get me up and about after an extended period of illness and being abed. I do have some chronic health issues, like too many people I know, that stem from what I believe to be the way humans live in and treat the earth and all of its creatures (including the plant people). One of the types I have takes down my immune system and it can take quite some time to get better (I’m still in an activation phase of this one). When we live in a world where humans spray poisons to get rid of the plants and animals that they don’t want, we tend to forget that we are poisoning ourselves as well as the creatures we love. All of life is necessary and I believe we need to find our way back to a sacred re-connection to our world and all in it. This includes a connection to where we live and to all of our neighbors (including the plant and other beings). Terri Windling’s blog, Myth and Moor, has been examining the connection to the places we live, our communities, and how we relate to the sacred in these places over the last couple of weeks (September and October). I encourage you to go check it out 🙂
“my friends are still here
while the milkweed is turning
it’s migration time”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh, cajole, create, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide, and seek.”
~ Terri Tempest Williams
“connecting with home
I am tender to spider
and my other friends”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Namaste, Bright Blessings, Namu Amida Butsu ~ Raven
“Nothing is more precious than being in the present moment. Fully alive, fully aware.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Flashback Sunday, September 16, 2014 – This is my pick photo for today and stars a Monarch butterfly. I love the intense colors of the open wings!
Flashback Monday, September 16, 2014 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a Monarch on my buddleia. I saw four early this evening before sundown.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014 – A large spider posed for me in the milkweed today 🙂
“Some will be scared by
your portrait in the milkweed,
large garden spider.”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
“Waiting patiently
in a web spun of milkweed.
Why are you hiding?”
~ Raven Ariana Simons
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven
Flashback Tuesday, September 4, 2012 – This is my pick photo of the day and I love the color and the way this volunteer cosmos is coming up in my gourds 🙂
Flashback Wednesday, September 4, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars one of our resident hummingbirds.
Thursday, September 4, 2014 – The season is winding down and some of the hummingbirds have hit the migration trail. I have a few left, but not the numbers I had. I only have a couple of red milkweed beetles left, too, though these don’t migrate. I am aware of the change in the season and the shorter days and that soon my little garden friends will be gone for the year. Some will have passed away and some gone into hibernation and some flown away to other lands for the winter. Sunflowers and milkweed will sleep in their seeds.
“Carry on my wayward son
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high
Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I’m dreaming,
I can hear them say
Carry on my wayward son,
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man,
Well, it surely means that I don’t know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about, I’m like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune,
But I hear the voices say
Carry on my wayward son
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more no!
Carry on,
You will always remember
Carry on,
Nothing equals the splendor
Now your life’s no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you
Carry on my wayward son
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more.”
~ Kerry Livgren
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven
Flashback Thursday, August 9, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a honeybee on the pretty orange flowers (butterfly weed – Asclepias tuberosa) in my neighbors’ parking strip. Love the clear shot of the bee with the vibrant greens and oranges!
Flashback Friday, August 9, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and hubby got to choose as today celebrates 22 years of marriage together 🙂
Saturday, August 9, 2014 – A few milkweed pods have ripened and the red milkweed beetles are continuing to feed. The insect in the pod is a milkweed bug, though these seem to eat more than just milkweed because I see them in the backyard where I don’t have any milkweed yet. Spearmint and fennel also grow in my milkweed strip and here is a tiny little native bee and a honeybee enjoying the blossoms. Happy Anniversary to my honey for 23 years of marriage! I love you 🙂
“You are an explorer, and you represent our species, and the greatest good you can do is to bring back a new idea, because our world is endangered by the absence of good ideas. Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness.”
~Terence McKenna
“Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering its a feather bed.”
~ Terence McKenna
“You are a divine being. You matter, you count. You come from realms of unimaginable power and light, and you will return to those realms.”
~ Terence McKenna
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven
Flashback Saturday, July 7, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and stars one of my resident robins. For some reason the pair have stayed active driving off newcomers (robins) from their territory. I’m not sure why there has been so much encroachment this year. In years past I haven’t noticed this much territorial issues this late in the summer.
Flashback Sunday, July 7, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a nice portrait of the blossoms on my yucca plant. White flowers are tricky and I’m pleased by how you can see some of the blossom details before they brown and fade.
Monday, July 7, 2014 – Pods are developing on my milkweed, demonstrated they have been pollinated.
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
~ Robert Louis Stevenson
“Inside that tiny seed, lives the roots, branches, bark, trunk, leaves, twigs and apple fruit of that apple tree. You can’t see, feel, hear, taste or smell any of that yet; nevertheless, it is all inside that seed. The moment the seed is in your hand— all of that is in your hand, too, from the root to the bark to the fruit! All you have to do is to push the seed into the soil. And what makes anyone plant any apple seed? It is the belief that in the seed, there is the tree. So, believe. To have a seed, is to have everything.”
~ C. Joybell C.
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven
Flashback Wednesday, June 27, 2012 – I caught this robin eating berries and you can tell that she knows I’ve spied her out! Hubby loves this picture and I’ve let him influence today’s choice for pick photo of the day. Yes, I’m trying to be sly behind the shrubberies (in this case ivy) but this female robin has caught me taking her picture.
Flashback Thursday, June 27, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars one of my ladies on some of my catnip.
Friday, June 27, 2014 – The milkweed blossoms are fading and a few pods are beginning. I didn’t find the monarch caterpillar, but I did see some red milkweed beetles.
“Why should we tolerate a diet of weak poisons, a home in insipid surroundings, a circle of acquaintances who are not quite our enemies, the noise of motors with just enough relief to prevent insanity? Who would want to live in a world which is just not quite fatal?”
~ Rachel Carson
“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, “What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew i would never see it again?”
~ Rachel Carson
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste and Kind Regards ~ Raven
Flashback Monday, June 25, 2012 – This is a little leafhopper on a sunflower leaf and it was incredibly tiny and I feel very grateful to have gotten this clear photo with all the wind. The bright colors are amazing and this is my pick photo for today.
Flashback Tuesday, June 25, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a young grasshopper on some spearmint.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014 – Today was a red letter day and we saw the very first Monarch butterfly caterpillar ever in our milkweed. We believe we’ve had others we’ve just never seen them. So we are doing a happy dance 🙂 The other photos also feature milkweed community members. You’ll have to look carefully at one of the photos to see the white spider.
“Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”
~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
“Love is like a butterfly, it goes where it pleases and it pleases where it goes.”
~ Sri Chinmoy
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste ~ Raven
Flashback Friday, June 22, 2012 – This is my pick photo for today and stars my next door neighbors’ echinacea. That yellow cast to the light altered the colors, but I like the composition of this photo and the clarity of the flowers. Also notice the fuzzy little native bee out of focus at the bottom of the photo.
Flashback Saturday, June 22, 2013 -Very busy day and I didn’t get a chance to take many photos so I feel lucky to get this lovely one of the full oak moon.
Sunday, June 22, 2014 – Here’s a glimpse at some of the members of my milkweed community. I don’t know what kind of insect this is in the first photo. If you know, please leave a comment below 🙂
I like how this honeybee looks like she’s waving while the red milkweed beetle looks on 🙂
I’ll miss all of the many pollinators that have been sipping the nectar as most of the blooms are past their peak and there are only a few blossoms opening.
This milkweed beetle looks like he/she is surveying his/her domain.
This is a small milkweed bug.
Not to be confused with the red milkweed beetle below.
This community member looks hungry.
The honeybees are still interested.
Last, but not least, is a bumblebee.
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Bright Bee Blessings and Namaste ~ Raven
Flashback Wednesday, June 20, 2012 – I call this picture “My Midsummer Skipper”.
Flashback Thursday, June 20, 2013 – This is my pick photo for today and it stars a beautiful swallowtail butterfly on my lavender.
Friday, June 20, 2014 – Today I was so happy to see the return of some special friends, the red milkweed beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus). The one below says, “Oh, hai!”. RMB are known to purr and squeak. My milkweed began as a volunteer years ago in a grass strip in my driveway. This was before it was known what trouble the Monarchs would be in. I pulled up the grass, planted herbs, and I have carefully tended the milkweed. It has slowly spread up the driveway strip. Needless to say, I haven’t been able to park in my garage for years.
After a few years, as the milkweed slowly spread, I begin to have a population of red milkweed beetles. Even though I’ve never seen any Monarch caterpillars ( I believe some grew up here last year), I look forward to the appearance of my beetles. I do see the occasional adult butterfly laying eggs in my milkweed later in the year, though sadly the butterflies have steadily diminished. I’ve lived here 23 years and have never used poisons.
All kinds of creatures love my milkweed and I also have milkweed bugs, another exclusive feeder on milkweed. Pollinators of all kinds love the blooms and I’ve even seen the hummingbirds cruising in them.
Over the years I’ve tried to educate my neighborhood about the dangers of poisons. I don’t think it has made much difference. For many years most of my neighbors didn’t like my yard (and many still don’t) because it isn’t manicured and I have many unconventional plantings. I’ve been turned into the city, too. Happily I haven’t had to get rid of my milkweed. What they probably didn’t/don’t know is that I’ve always planted for the pollinators and tiny wasps and other beneficial insects that have allowed me to garden organically. I’m hoping that some of my neighbors are paying attention to the news now and the plight of the pollinators and they’ll start planting for biodiversity some day.
In the mean time, part of what I do is try and take pictures of the little beautiful lives all around me in my own yard and neighborhood and share them with who ever finds their way here. I hope that you clicked on the photos to see just how cute our insect friends can be 🙂
Our hearts give thanks for the Grace in the Universe!
Namaste and Bright Beetle Blessings ~ Raven
Grace and Mystery 