June Nature Discoveries in Pictures ~ Flowers, Flyers, & More

     As I reflect back over this month, I realize we've seen some "new" things that we'd not noticed before on God's beautiful creation.  Having not previously been much of an outdoor person (I don't like dirt, sweating, or bugs), I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I have enjoyed spending time with the kiddos and my husband outdoors.  With a little effort on our parts, we can see so many things God has put on this earth that will bless our souls.  As the weather has warmed up over the past month or so and due to my allergy to heat (ha ha), it has put a damper on our outdoor adventures.  But I still wanted to share with you the incredible blessings in nature that we have enjoyed during the month of June.

     Previously I had posted  photos here, but they disappeared.  So I will share what we saw - 2 little land snails, a U.C.C. (my own acronym for an Unidentified Creepy Crawly), a swiftly moving green lizard, the little scoundrel that is known as the local cat food eating raccoon, a typically carefree butterfly stuck inside our screened-in porch, a dragonfly, two birds' nests (both discovered by my husband), a stunning periwinkle iris bloom, a variety of daisy blooming, another daisy or daisy-look-alike, a Happy Returns Daylily (this variety happily returns all summer), more gorgeous daylilies, breathtaking blooms of our Crepe Myrtle tree, and a Blue Hydrangea in bloom.

     I really wanted to capture each moment that we discovered something "new."  For me, it was truly a blessing to take notice of God's beautiful creation and know that He loves me enough to share these wonderful creations of His with me.  For God's Word tell us in Romans 1:18-20, "Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." (NIV)  What confirmation that verse should be for all of us of the depth of God's love for all mankind!  Ah.....more of God's little kisses.

Blessings to you!

Wordless Wednesday ~ #4

Expecting little kisses from God this week!

Unexpected Discoveries

Recently, I heard Barb from http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/ speak on a podcast about expecting the unexpected during nature study. Although our nature study focus right now is flowers of any kind, during one of our most recent outings, we found some unexpected things to research.  Of course, we also found things we expected to find as well, but it was neat to see the unexpected among the expected.  Once we got home, I began a quest in my field guide and on the internet to see if we could identify what we had stumbled upon.

     As you can see, this is a cluster of mushrooms that was probably about 10-12 inches across.  I have no idea how to identify mushrooms so I won't even pretend to be able to.  That is something I've tried to do in the past and found myself frustrated and with no answer.  So if anyone out there knows of a good website where I might find answers to my mushroom questions, please share!  At any rate, it was neat to see this specimen of mushrooms.

     Here is another find.  I assume it is some sort of large mushroom.  It was around a foot in diameter.  You can get an idea of how large it was by comparing it to the shoe seen at the bottom of the photo.  Seeing this intrigued me as I didn't expect to see such a large specimen growing just off the beaten path.  We couldn't miss it!

     We have seen Daisy Fleabane (or Common Fleabane) before and posted a photo recently but this was different.  I'm pretty sure it's an Oxeye Daisy.

     I think this was the most unexpected creature we found.  It's an Oil Beetle (Meloe Impressus), a member of the Blister Beetle family, and we even discovered from our research that it was a male.  The male has a crimp in the antennae which we were able to see when zooming in.  The female lacks that characteristic.  Although it may appear black, it has a dark blue tint to it.  It was a good thing we didn't touch it because it emits a skin-blistering chemical when agitated.  

     I am amazed at God's handiwork in creation.  And as I engage in nature study and really search for things that I've never looked for before, I'm becoming more interested and fascinated with all the different things God placed on this earth that should cause us to praise His name.  Not only are we learning to enjoy God's beautiful creation, especially some things we've never really taken notice of before, we are also getting a little hiking in for exercise along the way.  Ah...more little kisses from God!

Many Blessings!

The Misadventures of Scout - A True Story for Animal Lovers!

     I have been considering for a few weeks (maybe months) now starting my own blog and God gave me a good reason to go ahead and do it this past week. You see, our sweet white and tan cat, Scout, went missing this past week on Wednesday. We had looked for him, called him, shaken his food container (which just about always gets him running home) and had an email put out on Friday morning to everyone in our neighborhood to see if anyone knew anything about him.

  One of our neighbors called me that afternoon and explained to me that our cat had gotten into the car of a lady who was at her home on Wednesday and she had taken our cat home with her without realizing it. Later that evening when the lady went to her car to get something, there was a strange cat hiding under her back seat. That's when she called my neighbor to find out if they had a cat. When my neighbor realized it was Scout and told her that, the lady said she would bring Scout back when her husband got home later. What my neighbor didn't know is that once the lady and her husband tried to get Scout out from under her back seat, Scout got spooked, jumped out of the car, and ran off as fast as he could go. All of this occurred 15 miles away from our home.

     Although I really didn't see how we'd find Scout, without God's intervention, my 3 children and I proceeded to go on a search for our lost cat in the neighborhood where he was last seen. We put out flyers in the neighborhood that Friday and talked to a few residents there. On Saturday, we returned around lunch time and again around 5:00pm to distribute more flyers and continue searching. We talked to quite a few people that day and even spoke to a couple of guys who were pretty sure they'd seen him. Nevertheless, we again came home empty-handed late Saturday afternoon. My husband still believed we would find him but the idea was looking grim in my own mind.

    Close to 10:00 Saturday night, my husband was getting ready to, once again, drive 15 miles away in a last ditch effort to see if he could find our sweet Scout. Just before he left, we received a call from Jenny, a lady in that subdivision who said, "Mrs. Hatcher, I don't want to get your hopes up, but I think I have your cat." My husband headed out the door to see if it was in fact Scout. And it was!

     That was a little (or should I say HUGE) kiss from God that Saturday night. Seeing that cat again made my heart leap for joy and I'm not even a cat person, but I've grown very fond of him over the past few years. It was as if God was saying to me, "I care about what you care about." Thanks Jenny (who rescued Scout) and to all the sweet people who were so sympathetic and helpful at Southern Trace.

    I know though that God could have also chosen for our kitty not to be returned to us. I realize that it's all in His hands and I am learning, day by day, to trust Him with it all, no matter how big or small.

Trusting God,