an evening walk
Today I went for a little walk on this beautiful spring evening. It felt good to get some fresh air after a day in the office.
So out and over the railway embankment - where I had to wait because the barriers were locked - up towards Hardhöhe in Bonn.
To my surprise, I found beautiful young deciduous forests and wonderful paths there. It was really relaxing to go there
The evening sun let its warm light shine through the fresh green leaves of the beech and oak trees.
I watched the fresh leaves and enjoyed the spicy air in the evening. I noticed that many of the leaves had small holes and wondered about it.
Until I discovered small shadows on some leaves. Looking closer, I saw that something had settled there. A grin spread across my face and I said to myself:
"They are among us again - spring is here."
Now you're going to ask yourself what's among us again.... but hey, it's a mild May evening in a deciduous forest full of young beech trees interspersed with a few oaks and pines. So what else can it be than a cockchafer... no, there were a few more that settled in the young foliage.
I once looked up May beetles on Wikipedia.... They live 3 to four years as grubs under the ground and then come out into the air for a month.
Surely you will now ask yourself what have these beautiful animals actually done that they have to live in the ground for so long to see the sun for only 30 days. I have that too.
I sat down on a bench and thought about why this is so and came to the following:
You have nothing kill these animals.
Look, they come out of the ground when the warm rays of the sun herald spring, when everything is green and lush... when the evenings are getting milder and the stink of winter has left. Just as we humans wear short sleeves, dance under maypoles and fall in love so many times this month...
It's not called the merry month for nothing. For me the best month of the year.
They have a richly laid table and can enjoy life in the sun... it is not yet so hot that they burn themselves or even find dried leaves.... the evenings and nights are already very mild... me I slept with the window open the last few nights. What more could you want from life than being carefree at this time of year.
Then, as the nights get even warmer and the green lusher, her only concern is finding a partner and enjoying one last night with him, disappearing forever and starting the cycle all over again.
They don't have to protect themselves from drying out in midsummer or conquer the storms in autumn with their strong wings... no, that's just the protective cover, their wings are very delicate and they have to be unfolded again before each take-off. ... they don't know any cold, dark winter evenings when we warm ourselves in front of the stove... they leave when it's most beautiful and come back when the time has come for the young green to be at its most tender.
They are enviable these creatures.....
with these thoughts I have arrived home again and am pleased to see that a pair of swallows has nested in my entrance hall.... the messengers of summer probably go hand in hand with the creatures of spring this year...
I'm looking forward to a long, beautiful moped summer.