Naked In Eden Blog – Robin Easton

6 May 2009

The winner is….

Posted by Robin Easton under: Hobnobbin' with Robin .

Okay, The answers to the three photos are:

1. The first photo is wrinkle marks on someone’s skin from clothing. (Who’s skin? Now THAT is a real mystery!)

2. The second photo is the seed head of a large sunflower after the birds have pulled many of the seeds out. There are a few grey-black seeds left in the upper right hand corner.  What distinguishes this from honeycomb, which some of you gave as your answer, is that honey comb although similar in color has holes that are usually hexagonal or six sided in shape (occasionally roundish). Also, honeycomb doesn’t have the brown edging around the lip of each hole. The  diagonal pattern of the holes and their diamond shape is typical of sunflowers, as is the yellow coloring and brown trim. This sunflower head is still fairly fresh as it has not yet dried out and turned grayish-tan. Sunflowers are actually composites or from the Compositae Family of flowers, which are flowers that look like one flower but are in fact made up of many small flowers. Next time you see a sunflower take a look at it’s brown (or yellow) center. If the center has bloomed you will see a whole bunch of tiny flowers, usually yellow (even though you will still see the large yellow outer “petals”). Asters, Daisies, Zinnias and many other flowers belong to the Compositae Family.

3.  The third photo is mouse tracks in fairly fresh dry snow.  Now, what makes this photo clear and what distinguishes it from other tracks (even if you didn’t have a size scale) is the long straight tail line that is between each jump. Squirrels and other more bushy tailed animals (and most birds) would not leave such a clean continuous tail line in the snow; it is apt to be more “feathered”. Many animals including deer will leave toe drag marks but they are more disturbed (snow sprayed off either side of drag line). If I dragged a stick it would be hard to keep the line  from wobbling. And unless the snow is a mere dusting (or wet and impressionable) you often will not see the actual toe prints of the mouse. However, if you look closely you will see that the tail grows slightly thinner on one end (left end).  You will also notice two tiny depressions in the “heal” end of  the prints (left end). They almost look like tiny dimples, especially in the center print. These are the mouses front feet.  Mice are typically nocturnal (active at night) but during the winter months (in snow country) they are often active through the day. They also build amazing tunnels under the snow.  A whole subway system!   It’s remotely possible that the tracks could be made by a shrew or vole, but voles tend to stay underground in snow country and shrews tend to have smaller track straddles and shorter tails than mice.   But, no one suggested a vole or shrew, so it was not an issue. And moles, although active in winter, are active underground. They dig deeper into the earth. They follow their food, which also goes underground: earthworms, spider, centipedes, and some organic matter.

Like all of life there can be a lot we don’t see. Things can “seem” blurred or random or just a hole in the snow, but everything means something, right down to what type of snow this is, how many hours the sun, rain or wind has been on it. Like any foreign language it can at first not make sense and appear to us as gibberish or unclear, but once we understand what each sound means a whole new world opens up to us. Everything in nature means something and tells a story about events that are taking place, have taken place or will take place. There is a whole world going on out there that is filled with beings who speak to each other and to us. They can teach us many things if we take time to learn their language. As much time as I spend in nature, I am still a humbled infant in the most amazing school of all…the wild.

The contest winner is KitMama. She is the only person who correctly named all three photos.  You can find her at KitMama’s Pensive. She has a beautiful site filled with photos of nature hikes. She and her husband Billy are not only in love with nature themselves, but they are passing this legacy of love onto their three small boys. They call the kids, SweetCheeks, BabyMan and LittleMan; I love it. This couple don’t leave their kids at home with a babysitter while they go out and enjoy camping, hiking and adventuring. They take all of their kids with them, often they carry the little ones in packs on Billy’s or KitMama’s back. I am profoundly moved by this as I know firsthand how this will forge their children’s lives and create an unforgettable life-long bond with the natural world. I am very proud of both KitMama and Billy. I think we should all give them a resounding cheer for what they are doing. I know for a fact that there are others of you here who do this same thing with your children and I have to say that I love you deeply for it. I really do. I see what you are doing and I applaud you with all my heart.

Thank you everyone for entering this contest. In the next one I will give  a bit more context to the photos and try to go a bit easier on you. Most of you got the first one (the wrinkled skin), and then many of you got either the second or the third one right, but not both. I have a very aware group of friends. I like that!! Bless you for sharing your hearts and souls on these pages. Nothing you share goes unread or unappreciated. I am grateful. honored and amazingly blessed.

Much Love,
Robin

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Website: http://www.nakedineden.com
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