Posts Tagged "nature"

Celebrate Earth Day Everyday

Posted by Pat Stewart on Apr 22, 2015 in My Blog, Think About This | 0 comments

What a gift God’s creation is to each of us.  In our busy lives, we move about in our own “little worlds” accomplishing our objectives or at least aspiring to them.  That’s a good thing!  But, often, I think we get so caught up in our busyness that we fail to notice and appreciate the great beauty in which we live.  Kids are great to point out some of the simple beauties of nature that we, otherwise, might overlook. Today, the world celebrates Earth Day.  Eskimos, desert-dwellers, urban citizens, slum inhabitants, those wh0 till the land and folks spending their days on the lovely oceans of our world…we live and appreciate in different ways.  Maybe we don’t celebrate as such, but our earth feeds us, houses us and inspires us.  It’s worth protecting and caring for so that the generations of our future can reap the benefits. Living now in South Florida, every day I am fortunate to live in which many of us refer to as “paradise.”  Our natural communities are inhabited by magnificent wildlife…many endangered and protected.  Our “paradise” is their home and we are privileged to walk among them and see the glory of God’s creation in great awe.  I have found myself wondering at times that I sense stress on the wildlife, “what if it all just went away?”  That thought gives me the opportunity to refocus my appreciation and respect for our earth and the way it all works together…or not. God tucks glorious surprises into His creation for us to enjoy like this lovely Swamp Hibiscus in the midst of a swampy wetland. Often, it takes my breath away when I discover. I like this quote from Albert Einstein – “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” Join me, please, in recommitting your advocacy for protecting our earth…the great gift that it is!!!...

Like A Vertebral Column

Posted by Pat Stewart on Jan 23, 2013 in My Blog, NC Outer Banks | 2 comments

After the New Year, I spent a week along the NC Outer Banks with college friends, enjoying God’s great gifts of nature.  The shore…any shore, for that matter, is a favorite place for me to commune with our Creator.  The southern end of the Outer Banks had been ravaged from Superstorm Sandy so we spent most of our time north of Mirlo Beach.  We stayed in Kill Devil Hills and took day-trips to other areas like Pea Island, Manteo, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, etc. The beaches on the Outer Banks are different from the ones in SC with much higher dunes and a coarser sand composition.  We enjoyed walking along the beach with the shore birds, looking at shells and debris.  I saw my first whelk egg case.  It looked a lot like a vertebral column of some sort and seemed appropriate as the beginning of life by the sea.  Interesting to study.  My friend who grew up along the beach showed me what was inside by breaking the casing open which revealed teeny, tiny little “baby” whelks.  Each of the cases has a little hole up on the top edge which is where the “babies” hatch out to begin their long journey of life in the sea.  She dumped the little whelks out in the palm of her hand to my amazement having never seen them before. I quickly recalled these words from William Blake…  To see a world in a grain of sand And a heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand And eternity in an hour. Ah…the lessons of our...

Tufted Titmouse

Posted by Pat Stewart on Nov 16, 2011 in Portfolio | 0 comments