“Where there is hatred, let me sow love.” — from the Prayer of St. Francis
***
So much hate. How did we come to this?
The tallgrass offers solace, if only for a few hours. Come hike with me. See what the prairie has to say about it all. Gain some perspective.
It’s good to be reminded that there is beauty in the world, even if it is sometimes fleeting.
There are small creatures who keep singing, no matter what the headlines say.
Little winged ones who bathe themselves in light.
Comical critters who make us smile, even when world events and politics seem grim.
The tallgrass reminds us that the cycle of the seasons will continue.
The prairie ripens its fruits, as it has each autumn for time past remembering.
The grasses and wildflowers foam with seeds.
The seed fluff puffs like fireworks…
…catches the wind, and sails aloft.
Landing in unlikely places.
Other seeds are plucked from thistle plants to line a goldfinch’s nest, and help nurture a new generation.
Each fruit, each seed is a promise. Although the road ahead is fraught with uncertainty…
…we will soon find ourselves at the beginning of a new season.
Every day, beautiful things are unfolding.
The prairie reminds us that the issues that consume our attention are only a blink in the immensity of time.
How will we spend our days this week? Let the seeds we sow for the future be ones that lighten the darkness.
When so many around us speak hate, let’s sow love. Let’s make a difference.
****
The opening quote is widely attributed to St. Francis of Assisi (1181-2 to 1226). He was known for his simplicity and a love for nature and animals, and often portrayed with a bird in his hand.
All photos above copyright Cindy Crosby at Nachusa Grasslands, The Nature Conservancy, Franklin Grove, IL (except where noted): view from Fame Flower Knob in October; two cabbage white butterflies (Pieris rapae), an orange sulphur butterfly (Colias eurytheme), and two clouded sulphur butterflies (Colias philodice) puddling by Clear Creek; red-legged grasshopper (Melanoplus femurrubrum); field sparrow (Spizella pusilla) bathing in Clear Creek; American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) ; fiery skipper (Hylephila phyleus), author’s backyard prairie patch, Glen Ellyn, IL; Nachusa Grasslands in October; ground cherries (Physalis spp.); little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) with sweet everlasting (Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium); virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana); unknown seed; unknown seed in spider web at Clear Creek; goldfinch (Spinus tristis) on pasture thistle (Cirsium discolor); road through Nachusa Grasslands; common buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia) on white clover (Trifolium repens); eastern comma butterfly (Polygonia comma) at bison watering area; grasses on Fame Flower Knob with St. Peter’s sandstone; whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) seed pods.
Tuesdays in the Tallgrass 