Sometimes the tiniest of organisms in our world evoke memories we hold dear. Such was the case when I recently shared a few photos of one of the smallest of our regional flowering plants, a Tiny Bluet, Houstonia pusilla. As many of you know, I share tidbits about nature daily, through my Cajun Daily Dose of Nature post on Instagram and Facebook. The post about the Tiny Bluet reminded me that many of my friends also share my passion for nature, big and small.
For this tiny flowering plant, that stands no more than 2 inches tall, it would be lost in the lawn if not for the bright blue flower that stands out this time of year. And if we take the time to look, there are many other small plants that we would miss, if not for looking closely. Same can be said for small critters, like the tiny pseudoscorpions that live quite lives under the bark of trees on in leaf litter. And the number of small insects, spiders, and other invertebrates far outnumber the larger creatures that are easier to see, or notice.
But what really made me smile were the comments from my friends. “They are blooming at my house too” (Brenda Davis), “I stop and look at them” (Marilyn Castille), “Love this color” (Sue Manley), “Harbinger of spring” (Sheila Thead), and “I always love these (Dianne Hunt), tells me that these folks knew about these already. Or from my friend Else Martin, “It was always so good to see those peeking through the grass. Sometimes so many that there was a mass of them.”
But some of the more heartwarming comments were about great memories, like “Imagine the thrill of my mother when my 5-year-old self brought her a bouquet of these tiny things. She put them in an empty methiodine bottle.” (Nancy Donald), or Laurie Shields, who said “Mom always said when the Bluets bloomed, time to go barefoot! Ha.” Now most of these friends are my age, or younger, but share a time and places where we spent time outdoors, exploring, and bringing flowers to our mothers. For me, I poked in the grass and under logs to find some of the smaller things.
And Stan Flint shared this, “I used to be impressed by big, spectacular things. But I found out over the years that the truest beauty can be found in the tiniest things. What a wonderful discovery that was.” So true Stan! Humans often do not take the time to focus on anything other than the large scale of our world. But the smaller things are beautiful and fascinating. In my youth, I carried a small magnifying glass to get a close up view and found details beyond what my naked eyes could see. In the world of powerful microscopes, details of the smaller pieces and parts of nature are exquisite and mesmerizing, even the tinier parts of larger organisms.
The lesson for us all is that we need to look at nature at all scales. I often lead an exercise about observing nature that challenges people to change the scale of their views in front of them. If you only look at your feet, you will see the ants, but not the trees in front of you or the birds in the sky. If you only look up, you miss the ants, and the Tiny Bluets that tower above them.
Hope to see you in our great outdoors!