What is that?  How often have you asked yourself?  Can you remember the last time you wandered around your backyard with no chore in mind, noticing the strange, seeing something beautiful as if for the first time?  True confession, — I seldom do just that.

On the other hand my grand daughter of two and a half years, does this everyday, each opportunity to be in the yard, causes her to ask to herself, and often out loud, “What is that?”  At 2.5 years, the world is new to her, and she is not yet encumbered by labels, by the seduction of language, that encourages belief that one already knows.

These photos were acquired yesterday.  A squash blossom, and a pocket rose blossom, are colors so intense as to make one’s eyes ache.  There is the orange cone flower, a study in yellow and black.  The moment where I said, almost out loud, “what is that?” was the appearance of a clear wing moth.  The camera image captures the see-through wings of the feeding insect.  It is also called a hummingbird moth.  An unusual creature which I had to look up…

A final image of an art installation by my grand daughter.  How could one not respond to the surprise, to the ineffable beauty of Nature unless by creating art?