Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Saturday, November 21, 2009

The Visitor

Late one night I was working at my computer desk and this moth flew right past my face and landed on a folder. It startled me. It must have come into the house when I went outside with Carl before bedtime. Since mine was the only light that was on in a dark house it was naturally drawn to my desk.
Pretty little thing. I looked it up in the field guide and I'm sure it's a Tiger Moth of some kind; maybe a "spotted" one. I should have caught and taken it outside but I didn't. I just finished what I was doing, turned the light off and went to bed. Now, I can't find it.









Maybe tonight it will come flying toward the lamplight, again, and I can help it find its way back outside where it belongs. Did you know that moths can hear? They have a "hearing" organ, called a Tympanum, on each side of the thorax. Amazing! Was he listening to me.


He (I'm guessing..., it could be a "she") stayed for a long time and even when I touched him he stayed. We had a "moment" this moth and I. Even when I least expect that something will happen..., something does.
It might be what Mary Oliver refers to as the "greatest gift"....,"Could it be the world itself?"...,"That you have a life that I wonder about more than I wonder about my own." and her instructions for living one's life:
"Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it...."
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7 comments:

  1. Simple life.. simple pleasures.
    I love that you shared this with us all! :)
    There's beauty all around us, if only we take the time to look, isn't there?

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  2. A little birdie told me she's hiding in your favorite cashmere sweater. Oops, it's gone (the sweater AKA breakfast lunch & dinner). Too late!

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  3. A little moth one of God's creations can remind us of the simple things of life. As I grow older I marvel at all of God's creations. I thank him for the beauty he has created and for the friends he has sent my way. Have a great evening. Madeline

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  4. Hi Connie, my book is unfinished, sitting in a bag as well. And I'm posting this! Yikes. Maybe it will inspire me to finish that too?? Thanks for stopping by, that is a BIG moth! Take care.

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  5. A while back I read a wonderful novel about a woman who studied moths & I learned amazing facts about these creatures. We have HUGE moths in CO. bigger than the humming birds.They have very interesting lives.........

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  6. Maybe you could have trimmed both & he would have been more balanced? Does it hurt them? I didn't think so but I have a hard time remembering back when Dad used to have to trim the cow's horns at times.

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