I’m thankful for the gift of curiosity. It wasn’t enough just to find this pale green insect perched on the purple heuchera leaf in the pond garden. It wasn’t even enough to snap its photo. No. I had to satisfy my curious mind. What is this insect? Why is it active on a cold November morning? Will it damage the plant? And so on. One hour later, I had my answers. Named for its resemblance to the leaf of a plant and its habit of hopping from place to place (although it can walk and fly), the wedge-shaped planthopper overwinters as an adult and is not considered to be much of a garden pest. Yes. Curiosity has led me to the joy of life-long learning and a love affair with the natural world; and for that, I am thankful, indeed.
I’m dedicating November to giving thanks! For years, I’ve kept a gratitude journal in which I jot down things that I’m thankful for. During this month when we’ll celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, I’m going to take my gratitude for God’s good gifts one step further by photographing a particularly meaningful gift each day for my 365 project! I've always viewed the subjects of my images as gifts, but I'm looking forward to this month of intentionally labeling them as such. This will enable me to spend a bit more time dwelling on God's goodness and offering the thanks that He deserves. If anyone would like to join me in this celebration of grace, please do! I’ll be tagging my images: all-is-grace.
A pretty picture with the pinkish-reds surrounding this delicate green insect. As always, enjoyed your commentary. That inspired learning is another of the things I've come to love about being a part of 365 — I've studied up on words, creatures, insects, flowers and the like that I'd have never thought to learn about were it not for this site. Thanks for the 'bug lesson' today.
Lovely shot - and a wonderful lesson - both in the insect and in the fact that so many of us here on 365 have had our interest piqued by either one of our own shots or by a posting we're curious about - and really do follow up on that interest. As Denise said, this is a wonderfully inspiring site.
Beautifully captured, and I was so happy to read your commentary because I have a picture of one just like it that I took during the summer and haven't posted yet. Now I'll know what to call it when I do.
@lyndemc Denise, thank you so much for your generous, thoughtful comment. I liked the combination of pinkish-reds and green, too. There truly is so much to love about 365! I really appreciate your support of my project. Your feedback helps me to learn, and I'm so grateful for that.
@milaniet Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, Milanie! I love so much about 365! I'm learning about photography and oh-so-much more thanks to this wonderful site and the folks here (like you!) who inspire with their words and images and, also, generously give of their time by commenting on mine.
@linnypinny Lin, thank you for your comment and fav! There I was, on my belly, photographing the heuchera leaves when I discovered the little green bug. What a thrill!
(For your leafhopper, check out http://bugguide.net/node/view/84030 )