As I was leaving the house to do some errands yesterday, I heard the awful noise of a leaf blower pushing out every sign of a leaf from a neighbor’s lawn. To be sure, there would not be any sign of even a twig or leaf by the time his landscaping service got through. No butterfly or moth overwintering there, to be sure.
Leaving some place in your yard with leaves and twigs is important for wildlife. Moths and wooly caterpillars overwinter in leaf layers. Birds look for insects to feed on into the fall and even in the winter. Leaves helps many species of birds and other small critters.
We don’t see many toads or frogs now because they have been disappearing at an alarming rate. They are very sensitive to the habitat, and the loss of leaves and the moisture they hold affects them. Perhaps if we think of leaves as a natural mulch rather than something to be conquered, we would see more varieties of birds and butterflies.
Prayer for the Day
The crunch of leaves beneath our feet is a soft sound,
A sound that reminds us of the change in season;
The brisk wind cutting through the warm sunlight
And we turn our collar so we do not feel the chill.
Leaves swirling about us we feel your Spirit moving,
Brings us the realization of your grace and power.
In the name of the One who walked among us,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Anyone can love a rose, but it takes a lot to love a leaf. It’s ordinary to love the beautiful, but it’s beautiful to love the ordinary.
M.J. Korvan, American writer
Everyone must take time and watch the leaves change.
Elizabeth Lawrence, American horticulturalist (1904-1985)
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,
Fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling God’s command!
Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike, old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for God’s name alone is exalted
And God’s glory is above earth and heaven.
Psalm 148: 7-13