A Nature Poem

Beauty in Patience 

The blue jay, sleek and daring, darts through branches

Flying in circles, searching for it's prey

Patiently waiting

For it knows that the best things

Take time

Nearby, the bright green spider sways in the wind

Grasping the thin web it lays on

Patiently waiting

For it knows not to work hard, but to work smart

All around, the wind blows through the trees

Rustling the dozens of leaves

Patiently waiting

For it knows that eventually,

it will carry something off to it's destiny

Be patient 

For your time will come, some day

Nature Sounds

Fox Noises

The evening was fairly quiet. The only animal around was a small, grey squirrel wandering around the mandala, mostly in the same area as the spider. A shrill cry rang out, almost birdlike, and with it, the squirrel ceased all movement. It appeared as though it was attempting to shroud itself with the darkness. The cry rang out again, and the squirrel still did not move. I deduced that the animal producing this noise was a red fox, as the way the squirrel was acting suggested that it was hiding from a predator, and the noise was too high-pitched to belong to anything larger. The squirrel was obviously frightened. All the time I was there, the fox did not approach. Every so often, leaves or branches would crack. Yet it never came near, most likely because it was afraid of me. I felt a bit guilty, as I was disturbing the balance of nature. However, I also felt a sense of joy, as I had saved the life of this innocent squirrel laying before me.

The Mandala

The Mandala Spider

As I scoured my mandala for anything interesting, I noticed the bright reflection of the sun shining on a spider web. The center of the web was about as big as my hand, and the supporting strings were woven around two small trees and an even smaller felled branch. The spider lay motionless at the center, hanging upside down. The threads danced around in the breeze, taking the spider along with it, yet it still did not move. Perhaps the reason behind the shining string is that the sunlight reflects around the transparent, thin thread and then reflects back out. The spider was small, around the same size as my index fingernail. It's a nice green color, the same as the leaves around it, with small black dots over it's body. The green is bright, but not too overwhelming on the eyes. The underside of the abdomen is black, with a small orange area in the center. I deduced that the spider must be a Venusta Orchard Spider, based on it's appearance and behavior. It lies motionless in the center of the web, most likely waiting for an unsuspecting insect to wander into the web. The spider has built it's web towards the edge of a circular clearing about 10 feet in diameter. I concluded that the reason it has built the web in this area is that insects will most likely fly through the clearing as opposed to crowded areas, and then run into the web, where it could be entrapped and eaten. The whole time I was there, the spider did not move. I will check back on it in a day or two, as well as look for other observable fauna and flora.