"The aim of this approach is to raise mankind to the same level of development as the environment and thus eliminate the imbalance between them." ~ Maria Montessori.
For ten years now we have been creating a collection of ornamental tropical flowers, fruit bearing trees, exotic creepers, and unusual ground covers in our gardens. While we have been appreciating the miracles of nature all the while, this new photo series Dad is working on has opened our eyes to the gorgeous complexities of mother nature.
Check out the intense detail of some of our familiar flora and see if you can guess which plants they belong to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/rviveralli/Lines#
Now that this photographic eye is roaming the Crescent Moon grounds, we have all become hyper~sensitive to the action that goes on in minute corners of the property. Sometimes a day is just about getting from here to there but when you start looking at the drama found in nature, it is hard to take two steps without being in awe of the details.
Just the other day I was dividing some torch gingers and came upon my favorite butterfly, Godman's Leaf (Memphis dominicana), feasting on the fermenting carambolas on the ground. I paused to watch as he returned repeatedly to the same piece of fruit, unrolling his yellow tongue like a red carpet (proboscis). Later in the day I went to throw my pile of weeds into the compost heap, I heard the choppy sound of someone trying to mimic the song of the sifle moutayn (Rufus Throated Solitaire, Myadestes genibarbis). Expecting the perpetrator (whom i suspected to be my husband) to be nearby, I looked around and saw a young solitaire on the Bwa Riviere branch just a foot above my head. He was practicing his song as if for the first time and was in no way threatened by me. For as often as i hear them i have never been as fortunate to see one so close. I tried my version of a mountain whistler back and he just cocked his head a little confused. Unfortunate for the photo album, my tool in hand was the cutlass and not the camera!
Meanwhile, Dad had been observing the patterns of nature elsewhere on the property and noticed that the insects around the lily pond and pool were keeping to a schedule. He was awaiting the 2 p.m. arrival of his favorite dragonfly on the blue vervain when he noticed the return of the cricket in the water lily.
As minuscule as these lines, textures, patterns, relationships, and developments may seem....taking notice of them often makes us feel even smaller in this complex and natural world.
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