Eye on Nature

Sunshine made an afternoon appearance this week. It warmed the new outdoor seating area outside of the Student Union.

Against the din of political rhetoric and marketing pitches, the sight of a falling leaf might be ignored. The flight of a birch seed, carried by the lightest breeze, lifted by wings transparent, might go unnoticed. A spider, the size of this letter “a,” dropping down its gossamer thread in search of food, may move freely, outside our perception, unaware of us as much as we of it.

Yet within this silent, unremarkable world, a flash of blue and white, edged with rust, alights upon the ground. A nuthatch spies the spider and cocks an eye before adding fuel for flight. Beneath its feet, underneath the fallen leaf, a fungal spore awakes and starts its mute machinery, recovering carbon pulled from air and nutrients from soil, returning all to earth.

Natural processes continue, life is not absent in the dim light of winter, only cloaked. On these days when earth’s rotation favors south to north, sound yields to silence, frenzied activity to quiescence. Nature’s gift turns subtle. In whispers and shades of gray come solace and grace, a reminder to pause, a moment of silence for gratitude and appreciation. A beautiful gift for the season.

Wally Shriner is an MHCC biology instructor and the Natural Resources Technology program faculty adviser. Eye on Nature is his monthly column.

Advocate Staff