Him ‘n Her
At first I only saw him, standing on the edge of the leaf waving his front legs in the air, with their bright white extremities. I looked across the chasm between the leaves for what he could possibly be waving to and I saw her, not waving back, much.
After a little waving, mostly by him, they got together and that leg waving stopped but another leg waving started, the pair of legs behind the first – held akimbo.
Anyway, long story short, they mated and parted. Then she went about grooming herself and he started waving those front legs again.
Sound familiar?
© Mark Berkery ……. Click any picture and click again to enlarge
King of Flies – Robber of Life
Burp!
At a small clearing in the forest the grass had grown long and green with the recent rains. Ideal breeding ground for some creatures, ideal hunting ground for others.
Large by the usual size of flies around here, this hunter reigned. It moved easily with grace, never seeming to falter in take-off, capture or landing. There was an efficiency about it, no unnecessary movement or sound, a consummate conservationist designed for stealth.
He sat high in the long untidy grass in wait for something to emerge from the dark shadows below. As soon as a suitable creature, unaware, was within reach up he went to capture with those long spiny legs – the better to grip with – and deliver the ‘coup de grace’ to the creature with a sharp and deadly lancet sheathed in its strong stubby proboscis, usually to somewhere behind the head, via a cocktail of neurotoxin and digestive enzymes that rapidly paralyse and consume.
Cranefly was the prey of incidence today, not too big and not too small, and available in abundance right now – it also has very long legs that help trap it in the hunters embrace, and it moves at a speed and pattern that was easy to track.
The Robber, or Assassin Fly – so called for the way it quickly and silently snatches the life from its prey – was well fed this day.
*
It pays to be present to see what is now, and not occupied in the memory – which is then and a bridge to a robber of a different kind.
© Mark Berkery ……. Click any picture and click again to enlarge
This Little Beauty …
… landed on my leg the other day. I gave it a finger to climb on and moved it to the nearby picnic table. I did think it is a wasp and they do sting, but not all are aggressive and some of their stings are little more than a minor irritation.
And besides, it was a sprightly little thing and has a sweetness about it. So I had faith in this little character.
Faith, in the innocence of another creature, is a pleasure to have. Faith, the kind that moves mountains, from the inner landscape.
Faith, not an easy thing to come by for a man of experience. It’s all there is in the end.
Faith, in nothing in particular. A little of it is good for you, and me. ((:
© Mark Berkery ……. Click any picture and click again to enlarge
Rainbow Wanderer
I found this beetle in the dark of the rainforest and gave it a little honey to keep it in one place for a minute, to get a shot – and I enjoy feeding the little things when I do. Then these black ants came along and chased it off. But it must have been very hungry because it came back to the honey and risked attack by the ants – who wouldn’t hesitate if that’s what came upon them. Instead though, they made room at the table. A battle they couldn’t win perhaps. Or just a case of knowing ones place and putting first things first – food/survival before risk of injury.
An unusual truce indeed.
© Mark Berkery ……. Click any picture and click again to enlarge
© Mark Berkery ……. Click any picture and click again to enlarge
A Little Blue
Isn’t it amazing, the form, the architecture and colour, the design of a simple fly.
Might make you think there is more to it than meets the eye.
© Mark Berkery ……. Click any picture and click again to enlarge
The Perfect Picture …
… of sense, what else … is the one the mind doesn’t move on, obviously – no thought, no fault.
Thinking is the only imperfection on sense.
Here’s one to practise on.
No thinking now. :)
© Mark Berkery ……. Click any picture and click again to enlarge
Nocturnal Visitation
Between the deep and the clutter of mind, she came.
The colour of nature’s wisdom and justice, Jade by name.
White beauty clasped this face of mine.
A kiss, intoxicating angel, divine wine.
Marked the passage, a swathe of dark time.
Dare I say it, no more a-crime.
‘Frog’ Hopper reborn, so fine.
Little friend of mine.
© Mark Berkery ……. Click any picture and click again to enlarge
Nature's Place 
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