Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift. ~Albert Einstein
I enjoy taking nature pictures and sharing them on social media. Something shared is always more fun and I’m like a little kid waving my picture around saying, “Look what I spotted.” When you give Mother Nature a chance, she can put plenty of things out there for you to spot and enjoy. And for all that I do spot and share, I’m sure there are a hundred more wonderful things that I miss out on because I’m not looking or I’m in too big a hurry.
But having my dog buddies gives me great motivation to be out there walking in the world of nature. In fact Frankie is determined to get his walks. If I’m slow to leave my computer to take that walk, he pushes his nose between my desk and my chair and then climbs halfway up into my lap. He is not lap dog size at 90 plus pounds, but he does block the computer screen really well. And so we go out into the natural world to see what we can see. I tell myself that I can let new story ideas gather while I walk.
Sometimes I don’t even have to go far to discover a gift of nature. I spotted this little spider web on a flower on my deck while I was feeding Frankie and Marley. Frankie is just as insistent about meal times as walks. He needs no clock to know what time it is. But because I was there feeding them, I was given the gift of spotting this cute little spider web. When you really think about spider webs, you have to be amazed at the spider’s engineering ability. I have always wondered how the spider spun his webs. Did it have a little spool of silk strands to pull out for its web? It seems the Lord was much more high tech than that when He designed the spider. This is part of what I found about spiders and webs.
Spiders are tiny silk production factories. Inside their bodies, thread is stored as a highly concentrated liquid. A common garden spider can produce as many a seven types of silk, each made up of a different sequence of proteins. Each type of thread serves a distinct purpose: one, for example, makes the web stretchy to better absorb the impact of insects smacking into it; another makes the thread less brittle. Still other proteins protect the threads from bacteria and fungi, and keep it moist.
So how amazing is that? I didn’t see the spider that made this web and by afternoon, the web was merely a few loose strands of silk. The spider was off to find a better bug catching place to build a new web, I suppose. But I was gifted with the sight of this one perfect web.
“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” ~Aristotle
The Lord has made every creature unique and special in our world.
What lessons do you think we can learn from nature?
Comments 6
Good Morning although it is Tuesday as I was reading this a deer walked in front of my office window and made a turn into the trees that was so neat. Even though we have a lot of deer and we see them all the time I still get joy out of seeing them just like butterflies and flowers all of that makes me so happy. Even the birds that out front when they are feeding their young and it is the dad that is normally feeding it is so cute. I love your blog so much and look forward to reading .
Although I never want to find them inside, I love the discovery of spider webs outside. Thank you for this lovely devotional reminder, Ann.
Thanks for this interesting and inspiring story about nature and spider webs. I have one I am watching now, and in the past I have had the garden spider build its web in a large lantana plant on my deck. I think they repair their web at night. Loved the verse from JOB….so true !Another favorite reminder of God’s care is ” His eye is on the sparrow, I know He watches me “. Also ; my dogs know when it is time to eat and get up …even the goats gather in the corner of the pasture and stare at the back door, waiting for me to put them in the barn for the night !! Nature is such a blessing.
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I can picture those goats staring at your door hoping to see you coming with their feed, Nancy. Nature is such a gift. I’m so blessed to be able to get out and walk among those gifts.
Good morning Ann!
I’m just now reading your 1st Sunday devotion. I enjoy your posts and pictures very much. That spider web is beautiful. I’ve always been fascinated by webs, but terrified of spiders. The intricacy of webs is amazing. I used to have an orb spider on my front porch. I’d run through it nearly every morning, doing a karate dance to get it off of me! I guess the spider got tired of having her web torn up, so she’s moved somewhere else lately. I’m sure she was more intent on catching mosquitoes than scaring me, but I’m glad she’s moved away.
I love to explore nature. My grandkids enjoy it when I create a nature scavenger hunt for them. One grandson in particular says he wants to be a “wildlife worker” when he grows up. 😊
I think the best lesson we can learn from nature is to just slow down.
“Be still and know that I am God.”
Have a wonderful week Ann!
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I love that karate dance image, Lavon. I’ve done a few of those kinds of dances too. I don’t get nearly as stressed running into webs now as when I was a kid, but I’d still rather not have web accessories in my hair. But walking in the woods practically guarantees you will have a few webs on your head now and again. Those nature hunts sound fun. Your grandkids are fortunate to have such a great grandmother who helps them have a good time with nature.