A visitor and reminder of what is real.

This summer of 2024 has been a joy for me. Starting May 1st I had the earliest planting season of my lifetime. Consistent and, sometimes abundant rain, the usual intense sunshine, and that seemingly tropical humidity have made the gardens grow well. So, I can see that nature is still functioning here in the Great Lakes region, and that is my most pleasant daily experience. Having thorns and splinters stick my fingers is not pleasant, nor is the persistent sore back. But I don’t mind a little pain to remind me that I am alive.

Here is a Yellow Swallowtail butterfly tasting the zinnia nectar. I don’t remember seeing one before, so it was a surprise to see this one.

And a few days later, the Black Swallowtail butterfly visited the zinnia garden.

I know that nature (sometimes called the “Universe”) is chaos and unpredictable, but in the same place comes complexity, beauty, and intelligence.

Row of wildflowers bordering the “dark woods.”

Moving from the real world to the mythological one, if I had 1000 acres of woods it would be a perfect habitat for Anglo-Saxon mythological characters. I wouldn’t mind a few ghosts, especially if they were the disembodied spirits of well-known ancient characters. Goblins could be dangerous and unpleasant. Charles Dickens tells us a tale about goblins in “The Goblins who Stole a Sexton”. I would hope the foxes scare them off, but I haven’t seen many this year.

I know they are here at night, and they are a welcome sight when I do see them, usually in the early evening.