June marks the beginning of the summer season which is good news; the bad news is that it is also mowing season. As I look out the front window I see three lawns mowed to “perfection”. Not a blade of grass out of place. No leaf litter, no native plants, no messy trees. No robins grubbing for worms in the grass, no squirrels hunting for nuts; really, no life other than a grass monoculture. These a...
Recently I decided to learn a language during this solitary time, and since May exudes an abundance of birdsong, the language of birds seemed like a good choice; besides, birdsong has always allured me with its unique beauty. Beyond having more alone time, three other experiences prompted this idea.
A few weeks ago when I was walking in the nearby Audubon Center at Riverlands, hundreds of red-wi...
Lovely April! I delight in watching remarkable flowers growing from bulbs, poking out of the soil, delighting me with their beauty - daffodils, tulips, narcissus! All speak to me of resurrection during this holy season.
I clearly remember when someone told me that if I were to cut open a tulip or daffodil bulb before planting it, I would see the whole flower stored there; stem, leaves, bloom...
Some say the season of spring begins with sound, and I surely have found this to be true. For fifteen springs I have driven down Levis Lane on my way to La Vista, and each year I am charmed by the bell-like sounds of spring peepers emanating from a small pond behind Westminster Presbyterian Church. A little research confirmed my experience since they are known to be among the first frogs to call...
Everywhere I look this month I see that beautiful branching pattern. Out my window I observe the oak tree with its trunk, boughs, branches, and twigs; the pine with its needle clusters; the spruce and its bunchy branching. On the ground it is evident in the veins in fallen leaves, in the roots reaching out across the land, and I know it is underneath the soil in root tips and fungi busy decomposi...
I recently moved residences, and now during my morning spiritual practice I find myself looking out at an old red oak tree adjacent to a bird sanctuary. The predominant colors are gray, brown, and snowy white - except for the patterned shades of green lichen I spotted growing up the oak’s trunk. As I spent time with them, the lichen became beautiful to me in the wintry bleakness. Soon they captu...
One year I chose to make my annual retreat during December, and someone commented that this was a poor choice as I would be missing the seasonal parties. What I found however, was that I missed nothing! All I had to do was look out a window or take a walk to celebrate December’s natural parties.
I observed downy, hairy, pileated, and red-bellied woodpeckers wildly flinging suet from the bird...
“The wildness of the Mystery of God cannot be contained.” This quote from John Philip Newell’s The Book of Creation strongly captured my imagination one beautiful autumn morning; so, carrying the words in my heart, I headed out to Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary to encounter wildness and Mystery.
As I walked the trail I immediately found myself in the Presence. A lively frog jumped out of my w...
Here in the Midwest, October marks the time when timber rattlesnakes enter hibernation until the weather warms. I usually include a relevant photo with this post, so why isn’t there a timber rattlesnake in this picture of the Oblates Woods Nature Preserve? After all, it is a perfect habitat for rattlesnakes and dens – rocky outcroppings and forested bluffs - but in the many years of pulling honeys...
For many birds September’s seasonal changes mean work, especially migrators who commit to fattening up for flights of thousands of miles! This is serious business. They need an optimum amount of energy to make their journeys. Ospreys, shorebirds, Caspian terns, blue-winged teal, common nighthawks and many more participate in the wonderful phenomenon of fall migration, so evident at La Vista hig...
