The Unnoticeables- Through the Eyes of My Children

Have you ever stopped to watch a snail or a millipede cross the road? Or shushed up a while and really, really listened carefully to the rhythmic chirping of the crickets at night?  Have you noticed the funny way a Minor bird walks and moves its head? Did you stop to listen to it make funny "knocking" and "quacking" sounds? Have you taken time to walk with your children and look at the world through their eyes?

I  fondly recall days when I used to go for long walks with my toddler holding my hand, and a baby tucked warmly in my "sarong". Those were walks much needed to stop the crying of  my colicky baby, to melt my stress away and to use up the pent up energy of my toddler. Those walks opened my eyes to the wonders of nature, through the eyes of my child.

Yes, I have stopped to watch the millipede cross the road, listened and analyzed the rhythm of the crickets, watched and giggled at the minor bird and  all because my children told me to stop, observe and listen. My children have taught me to appreciate the beauty of little things that we so often ignore and pass by without a glance. They taught me to see that beauty is everywhere around us.

Some shots below, inspired by my children, plus some quotes I found online.

Katydid on a purple weed

 A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows. ~Doug Larson

Seeds on a journey to find new ground

"Let mystery have its place in you; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the ploughshare of self-examination, but leave a little fallow corner in your heart ready for any seed the winds may bring..." Henri Frederic Amiel

 

In the heart of a flower

These tiny bells look just like an ordinary weed to a passerby, but up close, it holds so much beauty.

I didn't want to tell the tree or weed what it was. I wanted it to tell me something and through me express its meaning in nature. ~Wynn Bullock.

.

My child, Jo, often stops to pick weeds for me. She gives them to me with love often saying "I love you mum, flowers for you." I accept these weeds with joy, for through her eyes, these are beautiful as roses. (Notice some wind blown seeds hanging on to this weed.)

A weed is no more than a flower in disguise, Which is seen through at once, if love give a man eyes. ~ James Russell Lowell

Oh the joy when my children find one of these. My children would huff and puff with all their might to see if these would fly.
 

 “To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring - these ar” John Burroughs

Believe it or not, my children have even taught me to notice the variety and wonders of the snail world. :) They pick them up, examine the snails thoroughly, poking and prying with their little fingers sometimes while ooing and aahing.

Finally, here's something I noticed  on my own. A lonely rose at dusk. I'd walked by this rose many times, and because I'm not a big fan of roses (but of sunflowers) I'd just glance briefly and nod in acknowledgement  when my children point out it's vibrant colour in the morning.
 But one evening while walking alone I saw it at dusk...and it had a beautiful glow, which I couldn't really capture with my camera. But I saw beauty and it struck something within me. I'm not sure what it is....but perhaps ...I do know, but I'll keep those thoughts to myself.

Finally just a few quotes I found.
 

 There is only one day left, always starting over: it is given to us at dawn and taken away from us at dusk. ~Jean-Paul Sartre

I  mean, it is an extraordinary thing that a large proportion of your country and my country, of the citizens, never see a wild creature from dawn 'til dusk, unless it's a pigeon, which isn't really wild, which might come and settle near them.~(David Attenborough)

Human rights are not a privilege granted by the few, they are a liberty entitled to all, and human rights, by definition, include the rights of all humans, those in the dawn of life, the dusk of life, or the shadows of life.~(Kay Granger)

@poundthegarlic.blogspot.com 2012

.