From Fog to Tiny Carnivorous Plants

Dear Friend in Peace,

What an exciting couple of weeks it’s been since we last corresponded. I've been working on the book and savoring the blessings of being with family and friends from far and near.

It’s a great joy for me to share more of the peace of our Mother Nature with you in photos taken at Carlton Reserve. May they bring us home to the peace that we are. The first are from a Sunday morning in late February when Ernie, Art, and I met in the Equestrian parking lot and began by making delightful discoveries there. We were greeted with mystical fog and a marvelous mystery. The others are from a jaunt Ernie and I took at Carlton earlier this month.

From a distance, we could not tell what we were seeing on the dead pine tree, but walking closer and the magic of modern cameras allowed us to recognize this welcome spring visitor to Florida and one of our favorite birds, a Swallow-tailed kite. We three were on high alert, tuned into the bird's every motion. These magnificent Kites stay here in Florida from early March through August or September when they head back to South America. While here, they breed and nurture their babies. Through sheer luck and taking many, many photos, this particular one shows the Swallow-tailed kite calling to its mate. This close up shows the Kite's distinctive tail. To see one in flight is to watch pure grace in motion.

May we wake each morning to joy
and choose peace
in every moment,
every breath,
and every step.

Yours in peace and love,
Donna

Here's the gentle, serene fog which greeted us and was a perfect, peaceful backdrop for our next discovery...

 


The following series of photos feature one of my many favorite plants, Drosera, which is also called a Sundew. These gorgeous minuscule plants are carnivorous and eat insects by trapping them on their sticky leaves and secreting enzymes to digest the prey. They are the epitome of many Florida native plants in that they teach one to look very closely to see their intricate and miniature world which cannot be seen unless one slows down and looks with knowing expectancy of hidden blessings. The first photo gives you an idea of how tiny they are. These plants also teach me to walk gently and mindfully on Mother Earth lest I crush a fellow being.

This next close-up shows the flower buds forming above the wee Drosera plants which are also called Sundews probably because their sticky leaves look as if they are covered in dew.

The next photo shows the sticky leaves very well along with dead insects being digested by the plant's enzymes.

Here's a Drosera with an open flower with several flower buds nearby.

The final shot is of the Drosera's breath-takingly beautiful, wee flower with flower buds behind it.