Stopping to See the Beauty of Life

A green moth flew on me and hung out for awhile.

Befriending a Moth
In the last couple weeks some peculiar things have been occuring to me. It all started when I had a beautiful green moth land on me while I was putting gas in my car. I was amazed at how it just hung out for a few minutes. It was special to me to have this experience because it was an opportunity to connect with nature in a unique way. The random act, after a long week, was an encouragement to my soul. This was my first omen.

Click here to check out 10 of the most beautiful moths in the world. The moth that landed on me kind of looks like the Luna Moth (Actias Luna) #9.

A grasshopper with one leg that we cared for a few days and released and then found later near our home.

Helping out a Grasshopper
When we went to the library my sons saw a grasshopper that was missing one leg. He appeared hurt and my son Adam wanted to keep him as a pet. We decided to bring him home and care for him. It made for a good homeschooling lesson. After a few days he was released. A week later we found a grasshopper with one leg in the follage near our condo. He was hopping, flying and looked really healthy. What a treat to see that we helped him along. It was my second omen.



Mickey, my red-ear slider, mourning his loss of his life partner, Susie.

A Turtle Mourns
Five days ago my pet turtle, Susie, of 15 years died. It caught us all off guard. Mickey, my other red-ear slider turtle, was left alone in his tank. The vet said that animals mourn and to expect this. I was very moved to see that he did mourn. He lost his appetite, stayed in one spot most of the time and did not bask on his favorite rock. I also noticed that he kept near him a rock that appeared to have some of Susie's blood on it.

I got him some new colorful rocks and played some music for him. He started to become more active and seemed to be attracted to the rocks. In the photo above he gathered some of them and put them next to him and just parked himself in one spot.

I kept spoiling him by giving him his favorite treats and strawberries. He eventually got his appetite back and looks better. If animals need to mourn loss it is a good idea for people to make the time to mourn loss as well. Thanks Mickey for reminding me to mourn.