Returning to Nature

I had the privilege of spending a luxuriously quiet weekend in Northern Wisconsin where I tuned into the natural world. Late May has always been a special time when so much of life comes into being.

When I did my annual check around the dock, I spotted the remains of what I thought was the shell of the mayfly. The weather had been very warm, leading me to think the reemergence of the mayflies had already taken place.


Much to my surprise, I learned that the nymph forms dotting the rocks along the shore line were not from mayflies but from the dragonfly! I settled in for a few hours and watched the wonder of the natural world as the dragonflies emerged from their water born nymph selves to flying creatures with wings of incredible beauty.








And that was not all of it....
The water in the lake was crystal clear so I was able to watch the small mouthed bass swimming near the dock. The next think I knew, there was a dark spot of uncertain origin. I took a closer look and realized the fish had just deposited her babies into the water!


For the next two days I watched the male bass swimming back and forth, continuously patroling his offspring to ensure that nothing would disturb them in their protected environs under the dock. The wonder of it all.


Being witness to life's beginnings is about as good as it gets... unless, that is, you are Lisa!