The Little Things in the Big Picture

The vastness of the prairie landscape is undeniable. On a recent morning, isolated lightning flashed in the distance and the rumble of thunder punctuated the undertone of insect song. The trill of a bird in a nearby shelterbelt joined in the morning serenade. 

It looks big and vast. And, yet, if one looks closely, there are treasures. Some - like the Kansas sunflower - are big and bold, splashing bright yellow against an azure blue, cotton-cloud sky.

But even those bigger blooms reveal a smaller secret upon close examination. The dewy morning had left behind tiny droplets of moisture, enhancing it like a necklace decorating a model's delicate neck.

Likewise, the snow on the mountain wildflowers so prevalent this year rise above the shorter green grasses, swaying in the Kansas breeze.

Earlier, we had driven 4-wheelers across CRP grass and pasture vegetation attempting to get some wayward cows and their calves back in our pasture - AGAIN! And while the cattle lumbering along the fence line were my primary focus, I caught flashes of blue and purple and yellow, hidden in the underbrush below the 4-wheeler tires.

Unfortunately, these escapees have been the motivation for many a morning - and evening - ride on the 4-wheelers. And while I can't say that I've been happy about the disruption to my schedule OR the phone calls about our wayward cattle OR their unwelcome brunching on the neighbor's soybeans, the repeated excursions have revealed a bounty of treasures nestled in the prairie grasses.

Even though I've zoomed in tight to reveal each variety's intricate beauty, many are really quite small - some smaller than Randy's thumb nail.

I guess good things really do come in small packages.

It's kind of like that message on your car's rearview mirror: "Objects seen in the mirror may be closer than they appear."

I'll revise that to say, "Objects in these photos may be smaller than they appear."

 “Looking at morning dew serenading on the petals of flowers is an ecstatic moment. This makes us realize that it is the simple pleasures of life that give us the most happiness."

― Avijeet Da

Even those blooms surrounded by stickers or those fading after full bloom are beautiful in their own way.

 It just requires a closer look.

A visit to the Flint Hills during the National Master Farm Homemaker Guild convention at Manhattan in August revealed the same thing.

It's hard to capture the undulating roll of the tallgrass prairie via a camera lens.

The vastness can make us feel small in comparison.

But, yet again, the underlying beauty is there for the taking.

 

A Time to Think
Devotional from Guideposts

The simple act of stopping and looking at the beauty around us
 can be prayer.
 –Patricia Barrett, author

A Time to Act

Today notice the little things that make your day special.

 

A Time to Pray

Thank you Lord, that however small or seemingly insignificant our gifts,
You can weave them into Your glorious symphony.

I am beginning to learn
that it is the sweet, simple things of life
which are the real ones after all.
--Laura Ingalls Wilder