Nature is the theme for beauty lately, it seems. If there is one thing that brings me to beauty, it is nature. It brings me to inner beauty, which I would describe as peace, connectedness, and awe. And it brings me outer beauty–I mean, what more is there than being part of this expansive, amazing earth and all her creatures?

The above picture is taken in my back yard. I’ve been working on making my back yard a peaceful haven for any and all little creatures. I started simply by feeding the birds. Then, for a while I did Agni Hotra, and worked at bringing welcoming, loving energy to the area around my house.

Mind you, I live in a busy suburban neighborhood, with a main road less than 100 feet from my house. Yet, in the past 6 months, the wildlife around the house has definitely increased. Perhaps it has to do with human encroachment on natural habitat, or less food for the predators all around, but we’ve had an increase in hawk sightings (with one even swooping into the yard at one point), fox sightings, and this kind of natural co-existence:

That’s the ground hog, a bunny, a mourning dove, and a sparrow. There were a lot more birds, but they flew away when I moved to take the picture; even here, the bunny is nervous, knowing I am there.

It was enthralling to be standing at my window watching all these little critters chewing on the weeds in my yard together. I know…”enthralling” is a little over the top, but that is how I felt. I just feel so blessed when all the life shows up, just because I feed the birds. I love the red headed wood peckers, I love the jays. I love the chickadees and the nuthatches. I even love the squirrels. I always feel so honored that these little beings grace me and the land with their presence.

Here was another wonder of nature I encountered:

This is a just hatched baby locust. It’s so fresh, it cannot fly. I was fascinated with the color, the wings, the eyes. The shell had fallen out of the tree and was on the sidewalk; there seemed to be many around; it must be the time for hatching.

I love the earth and all her creatures. I love the beauty and diversity. I love that every bit of nature amazes and awes me. I love that every bit of nature calms and soothes me (ok, not things like tornadoes…); every little being is precious. Every life is sacred.

All lives matter.

All life matters.

Every life matters.