Naturally Connected

Miniature Funnel Clouds

While driving home from work one night this past week I noticed a layer of clouds low in the sky that looked like they were miniature funnel clouds.  It was a very unique sight, so I went home and picked up my camera.  I then went on search for a place where I could get a good view of the clouds, because from the ground they were hidden from view because of all of the trees in town.  Luckilly, we are not that far from a range of hills where I was able to get to a higher altitude.  By the time I made it to a good spot, the sun was going down.  The funnels were not as distinct as they had been when I first noticed them, but the color of the sunset against the clouds overlooking Mt. Diablo still made for a good shot. 

Cycles of Life

Life is flourishing on my back patio.  There are four different bird feeders, plus I put out corn or peanuts for the squirrels.  I used to see mice occasionally around dusk.  However, I recently discovered that things get a lot more active after dark and they have become regulars.  With the windows open during the summer evenings I could hear a lot of rattling around the feeder.  They come from the neighbors yard up the tree over the roof of the garage and then over the gate to the patio to the feeder or they come from the opposite side of the roof through the vines over the fence onto the feeder.  Once they hit the feeder, they will climb over one another to get to the food.  Sometimes there could be five or six of them at at time.  Returning throughout the night, this level of activity started to rapidly diminish the food in feeder. The mice started getting more food than the birds.  Now I bring the feeder into my laundry room at night.  There is plenty of seed on the ground for them to pick up. 

The only problem with the food on the ground is that they are more vulnerable.  The other morning I found a dead one, right near the back door presumably left from the cat who had been outside keeping the ecosystem in check.  The same day I found a little baby one who had fallen into an empty pot under one of my plants that had drowned in a few inches of water which had collected from a plant sitting on a table above it.  One thing that I have noticed over the years is that if life is thriving, there is also a greater chance that I will also see the other side of life for a small percentage.  It is all part of a healthy ecosystem. 

A Tree with a Special Message Inside

During this past Christmas holiday season, I had very mixed feelings about purchasing a Christmas tree.  For many years now I have purchased living trees that could be replanted outside after their time inside.  I am currently living in a rental house that doesn't really have space to plant extra trees outside.  I thought very seriously about purchasing a man-made tree, but had concerns that the chemicals used to make these trees were not sustainable.  Eventually we went to purchase a cut tree at lot down the street where the proceeds of the sales went to support a local church.  However, I was feeling very guilty about it, because it makes me sad that the trees give their life to be cut and displayed for a few weeks and then discarded.

After bringing the tree into the house, we stuck the bottom of the tree in the stand and the metal part broke off inside the tree.  We had to go back to the tree lot and buy a new stand and borrow a saw from the neighbors to cut off the bottom part of the tree that had the broken metal piece inside of it.  The image you see here is from the inside of the tree trunk that we cut off.  I was shocked at the image in the middle of the tree.  Have you ever seen anything like this?  Please tell me what you see on the inside of the tree? 

I have no physical explanation for how this image could exist within the middle of the tree's trunk that we cut.  If the image would have been at the bottom of the tree when we bought it, I would have immediately assumed that someone had carved it or had drawn it there.  But there was nothing on the side that was cut at the tree lot.  At the bottom of the tree there is now a darkened area from the place where the Christmas tree holder was inserted and broke off.  The hole in the bottom part of the tree from where the stand was goes about an inch and a half to two inches into the trunk, but the part of the trunk we cut off was about four inches.  Thus, I don't think that whatever trauma we may have caused the tree would be reflected at this point in the trunk on the other side. 

If anyone has had images that have appeared in the cut trunks of trees that do not seem to fit with the regular annual growth circles I would appreciate hearing from you. 

Baby Spiders are Born and Set Free

On the day of the summer solstice, I decided to check on the spider in its cocoon.  It had been a month since my initial discovery the spider living there.  I found that the sack was beaming with life.  The mother was inside with about 15 babies.  There appeared to be an opening in the sack because one tiny spider had emerged on the surface.  I decided that given the numbers of spiders living within, it was probably a good idea to see if I could coax them outside, rather than have them all start to wander inside my closet area.  Gently opening the window, I placed the sheer outside.  Then I went out on my patio to watch what emerged.  Within a relatively short period of time the mother came out and quicky went to explore the outside area around the window.  Then, slowly one by one, the baby spiders began to appear.  Some required a little encouragement.  I rubbed my fingers lightly on the back side of the sheer to get them to move.  After about an hour all of the spiders had come outside of the sack to discover their new home.  They were then free to enjoy the rest of their days in the big open world. 

Spider Emerges from Cocoon

About eight hours after I originally noticed the spider in its cocoon, the spider has emerged and is now tending to the sack on the outside on the curtain.  Note how the yellow bundle inside the sack is more noticible in this image. 

Spider Cocoon

Something drew me toward the sheer drape hanging in my closet this morning.  For some reason I went into the back corner of the closet where there is a window that is almost entirely covered by a large wardrobe to move the sheer and glance out the window.  Then I noticed that there was a fold in the drape that was stuck together for some reason.  As I pulled it apart there was a crackly noise that sounded like a thin sticky paper which was stuck together by gum or something.  When I examined the material up close I discovered that there was a spider inside moving around, and she had a yellow sack of eggs in the cocoon.  Even though I had pulled apart the drape where it had stuck together, there wasn't a clear opening in the little cocoon.  It was a very strong protective place.  It made me wonder, how long would the spider stay there in its little space.  How long does it take for the egg to hatch?  Does the spider go without food during this time? So many questions.

There was no other reason for me to look at the drape than just to notice this little wonder today.  I love these little discoveries, and I am grateful for the wonder of the LIFE surrounding me.  And you too...  The joy of life is there for us all to appreciate as we are present in the NOW. 

Raven and Racoon

One morning a few weeks ago around 7:00 am there was a raven that was making persistent calls for about 20 minutes while I lay in bed.  After getting up, I looked out back door window to find a raccoon wandering around on my back patio.  I was surprised to see him still out now that it was light out.  The raven was dive bombing the raccoon, telling him that it was time to go home to his daytime resting place.  The sounds continued for another fifteen minutes as the bird followed the raccoon from my house across the street to the neighbor's house.  I was quite amazed at how the bird followed the raccoon, and continued to harass him as he made his way down the street.

This evening around 7:00 pm, there was again the persistent calling of a raven outside.  Remembering the event from a few weeks ago, I wondered if it again meant that there was a raccoon in the neighborhood.  I looked out my back door and found a young blonde colored raccoon on my patio.  He was carefully placing his paws on the ground feeling for peanuts in the bird seed that had fallen to the ground.  I had about a handful of peanuts in the shell handy that I feed to the squirrels, so I grabbed them and went to sit on my back steps.  I gently threw the peanuts toward him one by one.  He continued to carefully feel for the peanuts on the ground, only this time he had to remove the shells before he could eat them.  A couple of times he decided he wanted to take the peanut in the shell and play with in the water fountain first.  This is familiar behavior that I have seen with raccoons in my moms back yard.  They like to play with their food in the water.  While I sat there, the bird continued to call for a while, but then eventually flew off.

Now I know the call of the raven communicating that a raccoon is in the neighborhood wasn't just a one time occurrence.  Keep your eyes and ears open.  The calls of the raven around dusk or dawn have meaning.  You just have to listen and notice what is going on around on the ground. 

2008 Lavender Festivals around the World

Can't get enough lavender?  I already bought some fresh bunches at the farmers market a few weeks ago.  Attending the festivals is the way to go.  There, you can immerse yourself in the fields and soak up the aroma from the blooms bursting forth in the sun.  You can cut the flowers fresh and bring them home to enjoy.  After enjoying the flowers for a week or so, then you can hang them to dry, and then place them back in the vases as dried flowers. 

Here are all the festivals this year in case you want to plan a world tour. 

Download lavender_festivals_around_the_world_2008.doc

Learn to Record the Sounds of Birds in Nature

Learn state-of-the-art techniques for capturing bird sounds, guided by experts at the annual Sound Recording Workshop offered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The course will be held at San Francisco State University’s Sierra Nevada Field Campus in the spectacular surroundings of the eastern foothills of California’s northern Sierra Nevada mountains from June 7 to 14, 2008.

The workshop will include lectures, discussions, and daily field recording sessions. Participants will learn how to effectively handle a portable field recording system to make scientifically accurate recordings of bird vocalizations. Discover how to conquer wind, how a roadbed can help overcome the sound of a rushing stream, and why placing a microphone on the ground is sometimes the best strategy. There is also an introduction to the science of sound analysis which converts sound waves into visual images called spectrograms. With signal analysis it’s possible to visualize a bird song note by note.

Learn more >

Floating on Water

I was captivated by the small indentations in the water around each delicate leg of this skeeter bug.  It was a lovely experience just to watch him swimming around on top of the pond water.  Similarly, I have deep appreciation for the beauty of this creature's small habitat.  Look at the colorful needles of the redwood trees that have become submerged in the water being reflected by the light of the sun.  The space was so peaceful and serene that one could become immersed within the environment and loose complete track of time outside this space.