A Glimpse of Nature

Calling all nature lovers with a camera.  It’s time to share what you see and, perhaps, to challenge yourselves to notice more.  You’re invited to participate in “Picturing Winter,” the Ames Free Library’s winter photography contest!  Photos must relate to the theme of ice and snow.

Last week’s “What Is It!” game featured two structures that facilitate reproduction for their creators. The animals who produced these “egg cartons” were, however, vastly different.

A Baltimore oriole wove the sack-like nest in the first image.

One long-ago November, the library staff received a gift from two grateful patrons. This small, but sincere, token of appreciation grew in a four-inch pot. I put it on the windowsill for all to see and cared for it out of respect for the givers’ kindness. Soon it grew and grew, in size and beauty, until it became a holiday favorite of our patrons.