Argiope garden spider, exists here. The female's body is 1 1/2 inch long. She builds an orb (circular web) with the very characteristic zigzag ladder inside of it.
During this week's session, we were treated to the writing of Nic Pabst. He has written another essay from his heart which tells about an old decrepit pear tree in his back yard, and the emerald green spider who builds her web near his garbage cans under that tree. He moves us with the observations of that small spider's universe which he then broadens to include our universe and maybe then a universe that is oh so much larger than ours that we can't understand. Again we so very much enjoyed hearing this reading.
I would love to put this story on this blog but we are preserving it so that Nic can send it somewhere for publishing We plan to keep after him to get these wonderful essays published. And if we publish it here, it might interfere with that goal.
Nic has been reading a book entitled Sex on Six Legs, which discusses the small spiders and their webs, and most importantly their daily life.
Charlotte's Web is another book that can be very moving, even for an adult to read.
Sky said it is amazing how common mysteries become common miracles. The very familiarity of life becomes a veil and we have to work at seeing these things.
Many people recalled various medias that tell us about such topics. Anne Dillard tells us that there are 600,000 spiders (or maybe other small beings) in a cubic inch of topsoil. Think of the ENTS in The Hobbit. They were trees and they were quiet, slow to act, but steeped in wisdom. One member spoke of Brian Torke, who was a professor at Ball State University in Indiana who observed spiders, and is a great story teller. Lewis Thomas's Late Night Thoughts While Listening to Mahler"
Eo Wilson wrote about ant colonies. Another book someone mentioned is Life on a Small Planet.
Whitman said "An insect is a miracle.because it can scatter a million infidels."
We must stay attuned to these small miracles. Nic called our attention again to being in this world with every ounce of our concentration. Never let us forget to occupy the present moment completely.
Georgia O'Keefe said "It takes a long time to see a flower. It takes a long time to know a friend."
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