I've spent much time nuturing my children's love of nature by being out amongst the great outdoors as frequently as possible with them.  This is so important!  However, recently I also realized how important it's been that I've also been taking time to experience God's creation on my own.  A couple times a month (or more), at night after my sweet husband comes home, I've ventured out just for a bit on my own with my camera in pocket and peace on my mind.  In this solitude I've been able to connect with my Lord on a deeper personal level which serves to greatly refresh my mind and soul.  The last two nights I took time to do just that and here are some of the discoveries I made. (click on any of the photos to full size)

Dragonflies are truly beautiful, delicate, amazing creations.

Male Whitetail Skimmer

Female Widow Skimmer

Butterflies are much friendlier and less scared of you when you are by yourself.

Great Spangled Frittilary

Tawny Crescent

God put simply breathtaking colors and patterns even in beetles.

Japanese Beetle

When all is quiet, God will show you something that you've never seen before, and maybe didn't even know existed.  The following photos are of the Hummingbird Moth.  He (?) looks like a combination of a humminbird, bumblebee, and a moth!  Very awesome!  I crouched down and for several moments he fluttered about me as if I was just another flower!  I took 20 photos, but these three are the best!   I admit I felt a bit nervous because he looked a bit like a bee, but I knew he was harmless.  I saw up close details and watched as he put his little proboscis into each red clover for a drink.

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

Psalm 23:1-3

I've been having fun learning how to use my new camera and have been taking lots of nature photos over the last few weeks.  So I'd like to share some of my favorites with you!  You can click on any of the photos and then click on full-size to see the images blown up.

Our Latest Wildflower Discovery - Chicory

- If you click to enlarge, can you see the really neat blue and white stamen and pollen clinging on the anthers?  I didn't even notice this until I viewed the photo on my computer!  That is the really cool thing about macro photography - it makes things visible that we might not otherwise notice with the human eye.

 Beautiful Morning Photo with Dewdrops and Unidentified Insect

 Eastern Dobsonfly - on Garage Door in Morning Light

- "The Eastern Dobsonfly is the most commonly encountered dobsonfly in Kentucky.  It is among Kentucky's most distinctive insects and is sought after by collectors and photographers. Dobsonfly and fishfly adults are a challenge to find because they are only around for a few weeks each year." - from Kentucky Critter Files

- It's hard to see the proper color in this photo, but it was a beautiful soft slate gray color with black speckles!

 Ox-Eye Daisy with Unidentified Bug

Closed Brown-Eyed Susan with Surprise on Tip

- This one wasn't noticed until we blew it up on the computer.  Hannah spotted it before any of us.  Enlarge by clicking on the photo, and notice the little baby Wolf Spider (?) on the end!  Also notice the texture of the leaves and petals.

Unidentified Mushroom/Fungus in Landscaping

- One evening I took a photo of what appeared to be a small flower sprouting in our landscaping; however noticed that it had a thick stalk like a mushroom.  In the morning it had fanned out to look like this below.  Very cool!  I've tried to identify it unsuccessfully.

Unidentified Insect on Red Clover - Update!  It's a Banded Flower Longhorn Beetle - Thanks to Blake at the University of Kentucky Entomology Department!

- I just took this yesterday.  This insect was so cool looking, but I cannot identify it.  I sent this photo to the University of KY Entomology dept. for identification.  Enlarge it too see the very neat markings.

 Cumulonimbus Clouds (looking off back deck)

- Storms were brewing all around us.  This was the biggest Cumulonimbus cloud I've ever seen!  It was very impressive.

 Storm Clouds Starting to Brew

- Taken as we were driving.  Cool!  This year the clouds have been particulary impressive, or is it that I'm just noticing them more?

Thanks for coming along for my photo parade!  The next couple of days I will be "missing in action" so that I may finish preparing for my talks at the CHEK conference.  However, after the weekend, I will be "back in the blogging saddle" again.  I still have it on my blogging agenda to share posts about using Nature to teach Language Arts and also specifics about our Wildflower Identification.  Also I will be preparing more lessons for the new school year and I'm sure I'll have things to share from that!  Blessings for the rest of your week and weekend!

Nature is abounding lately, especially today!  My kids are both becoming such nature adventurers.  I let them have lots of free time today, and wow have they been busy exploring God's creation.  They don't take such interest everyday, so I'm enjoying every minute of watching them.

Alex has had this interest in cicadas for a few years now, I think ever since the last periodical ones came.  And I don't know about you, but unless the periodical ones are here, I hardly ever see a cicada.  Perhaps I may hear them, but they are hard to find and extremely hard to catch...well, except for my son!  He disappeared outside today for awhile.  When I finally went to find him, I saw him across the yard in an empty lot next door, moving VERY slowly through the tall weeds.  He heard me calling for him and turned around only to shush me with his finger, and then point excitedly to the tall weed in front of him.  I knew then he was hot on the trail of a cicada.

Last summer, at our old house, he must have caught a dozen or so cicadas over the summer.  This summer he hadn't been able to catch any because they spend most of their time high up in the tall trees in back of us out of his reach.  I stood there for what must of been five minutes or so watching Alex carefully inching his way toward his unsuspecting victim.  When all of a sudden he grabbed with both hands and squealed excitedly, "Mom, I got him!"  Without batting an eye, quickly I ran downstairs into our schoolroom for the infamous bug container.

As soon as Alex emerged into the house with him, we knew he was a male by the loud chirping.  The females make no noise.  Alex was shaking like a leaf with excitement as we put the cicada into the container.  Then we proceeded to tell me just how to successfully catch a cicada, "you sneak quietly, until you hear it stop chirping, and then you stop until it begins to make noise again, because Mom he can't hear you coming towards him when he's being noisy; and when you get right up next to him, you pounce like a tiger with your hands and there you have him!"  I informed him that I didn't think it'd be all that easy for me!

Alex caught a "Dog-Day Cicada."  They are called that because they come out and sing in the dog days of summer (July/August).  If your child is interested there's a great book that you can usually find at the libraries called Cicada Sing-Song, by Densey Clyne.  We ended by buying it through Ebay because Alex has loved it so much.  Also, here are some great sites:

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/cicadas.html

http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/allyr/cicadas.htm

http://saltthesandbox.org/cicada_hunt/CicadaLinks.htm

But nature hasn't ended there today.  Hannah got ahold of a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly.

http://www.cirrusimage.com/butterfly_etigerswallow.htm

And her and Alex both have gotten to feed a flock of  Canadian Geese a few times right out in our street. 

AND, while at my parents house the other day, we rescued a baby robin which had fallen out of it's nest.  We didn't want to leave it because they have some stray cats that hang around.  We intend to try and find a bird rehabilitation center to take it to, but in the meantime we are it's surrogate mother.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Robin.html

Happy nature adventures!!!!!

God's creation in nature never fails to provide us with daily opportunities to observe wildlife, even more so now that we have woods and creek in our backyard.  Yesterday, after a quick rain shower, a little Eastern Box Turtle came wondering up our hillside.  You'd think my kids had never seen one before with the way they were so excited!  I pray that they never loose that excitement.

They have affectionately named him "Rocky", at Grandma's suggestion.  We know he is a boy because we looked up some information about them and found out that only males have red eyes.  I just love the way that every box turtle has unique markings on their shell, just another one of those personal touches of God on nature.  Rocky has particularly awesome markings (they look a lot like Chinese writing, hmmm I wonder).

If you'd like a good fact sheet on Box Turtles, see the following: nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/Facts/FactSheets/Easternboxturtle.cfm

Here is a picture of Rocky, isn't he cute!?