It’s all connected

The photo prompt this week from The Daily Post is connected. Usually when you think of something being connected it conjures up something physical, like a bridge, or a highway.

But for me, everything in nature is connected. We are connected to nature if we allow ourselves to be. If you really observe nature, you realize the relationship, the connection, it all has.

The river provides moist fertile ground for the willows to grow. They in turn do their part to prevent the banks of the river from eroding away.

The willows provide food and a good hiding place for the moose. If you didn’t know a moose was in a particular spot in the willows, you would never see him.

This time of year the moose are eating tons of willow leaves. The will start in the middle of a branch, and pull their head straight up to strip the leaves.

It’s fascinating to watch actually. They are leaving the whole bottom half of the willow alone, so it can continue to grow. (I could have taken a photo of moose poop to show the whole cycle, but decided not to.)

The river and the moose are connected. He gets a drink from the river, then crosses the river to his favorite daytime bed spot.

And to feed on those willows.

The beaver are part of the river cycle too. They cut the willows, creating dams, and ponds for the moose and fish.

Nature connected, and in balance, is a beautiful thing.

Another photo challenge this week is from Otto at In Flow. I have mentioned his wise and wonderful posts about photography, and art here before. This week he talked about how some of the best photos, and art in general, can be accidental. Something you aren’t trying to do. All photographers want to shoot the best, most beautiful photo ever. In this post, he challenged us to shoot the ugly, the stuff you would never stop and photograph. So on my walk the other day, I stopped and took photos that I would never have given a second thought to before. Here are two of them.

It was an interesting exercise for sure.