When I was an interpretive guide at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, I used to teach children the term, "biodiversity." In kid terms, this was "many different kinds of things all living together in the same place." For some of those students, particularly the ones from urban environments, the huge array of forms of life, even in a fairly urban park like the CVNP, blew their minds. One student in particular stands out to me--he pointed at the bird we were observing at the time (I think it was an Indigo bunting, or some equally as colorful bird) and asked, incredulously, "This is an Ohio bird? For real?"
I loved that sense of wonder, and at the same time, it was a little sobering to see just how little life those kids had seen beyond parking-lot seagulls, pigeons, and cockroaches. Yet now that we've moved far out of the city, I feel that same sort of wonder falling on me all over again. Being in a rural area, close to several national and state forests, we are surrounded by life, and the sort of a diversity that we never had in the city, or even my childhood suburbs.
This has become particularly evident to me in one of my new favorite morning activities--porch light checking. I love going out in the early morning and seeing what moths have decided to hang around our front porch. The variety of form and shape is dazzling to me--more than I've ever seen before. The following photos are from merely today and yesterday mornings--I can't wait to see what years of observation will show us out here!
When I first saw this one, I thought it was bird poop ("All according to the plan!" the moth declares). Named the "beautiful wood nymph," by a naturalist with a curious sense of humor, I'd never seen a mimic like this before.
This Io Moth was not amused by my attempts to show off the giant "owl eyes" of its hindwings.
Wavy Lined Emerald Moths are far smaller than they look photographed--easy to miss their cheery spot of color.
This Grape Leaffolder Moth gets bonus points for looking like it's trying to be an indie album cover.
I'm really digging the crazy head of the Grass Tubeworm Moth (which is what I'm guessing it is, but moth ID is sometimes a bit...fuzzy for me).
(see what I did there)
Like this one? No clue what it is, but it's been hanging around for a few days, and I've grown fond of it. It reminds me of one of those old ladies, wearing too much perfume, a wig, and a fur coat that make her look ridiculous, even though it is evident that she thinks she looks fabulous, dahling.
This is just a fraction of a slice of what I've been finding, but I love sharing the beautiful palette of creation that is just blossoming, fluttering, creeping, and growing around us. And I really like not knowing what I'm seeing--I had to look up and identify 90% of the things I'm seeing out here, and so every day is a chance to learn more about this gorgeous land we've been blessed with. It's refreshing and humbling to be surrounded by so many things I don't yet understand. The infinite creativity of a Creator is abundant and so visible out here--even though I was an art student in college, I prefer this "gallery" over many of the museums I used to quietly browse through. And the exhibition is ever-rotating.
More to come, as always. Thanks for spending time with me this morning, enjoying my porch-light-buddies.
I am glad you are on Steemit too!
I follow your blog in general and have been on Steemit for nearly two years. haha.
This was so interesting!!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks so much for reading! We're still trying to figure out where our best fit is online...it's such a HUGE internet world.
I'm so glad you enjoyed my morning moths, too. There have been dozens more beyond these--it seems they change with the seasons, too. I love just getting to learn our area!