This summer I have developed a new respect for the little creatures. It all began with reading Jon Katz new book “Talking to Animals” and coming to realize the tremendous power of intention in relating to animals and of course to many other life aspects as well.

When the carpenter bees got into full swing eating the wood above our small front and side porch they had sawdust falling down covering the steps and floor. Instead of going into a full blown panic about our old house being completely consumed by them and crumbling to the ground, I took myself to a quiet place and felt for the earth below me. I thought about the purpose these bees had and realized they had a job of eating dead wood and also they are pollinators.

When I called upon them to find a home in the dead trees and please leave my home for me, many left. Not all, but it looked to me with my poor eyes that they were taking others or maybe larva with them.

What was also strange, blue wasps seemed to be moving in, and actually carrying things in… There seemed to be something going on between the carpenter bees and blue wasps and I wonder if next year I will be talking to blue wasps. I have to appreciate that they are also a placid insect and easy to talk to compared to yellow jackets or hornets…

I saw the carpenter bees down in front of my house near an old half dead tree collecting pollen and actually it felt good to see them. I felt akin to Tom Bombadil in The Lord of the Rings who rejoiced in all creatures.

Recently while finishing up many of my hand dyed and painted silk scarves for the Bedlam Farm Open House I met a new visitor.

I placed one of my soft silk velvet scarves over one of my evergreen shrubs to dry ( the best sort of drying rack) and came face to face with a lovely green Praying Mantis who looked right at me as if to say What are you doing here? Then approached my soft purple with reds scarf and touched it as if to say, And what is this beautiful soft thing?

She, the females are big and are known to eat the male after mating, crawled onto the scarf and what a gorgeous sight they made. My friend Abrah Griggs, an illustrator from Vermont who made the image at the top of this post, immediately spoke for the scarf and also made a great drawing of the Mantis and scarf which she agreed I could share with everyone. Abrah appreciates the little creatures and has taken to selling some of her work as cards and cups and I am sure there will be more.

It was a wonderful Open House at Bedlam Farm and a great year for appreciating more that Mother Nature shares with us.