Oecology...

 "...the branch of biology that studies the relationship of organisms and environments"

This past Father's Day my family and I camped along the Shenandoah River

 and I took some pictures of the marvels to be found:

 “The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls. ” - John Muir

 

All leaves above: young Sycamore

"Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the Earth are never alone 
or weary of life.”“ - Rachel Carson

Two photos above:  Horse Nettle, Solanum carolinense - a poisonous relative of the tomato

 “Experience the beauties of nature, 

and in doing so, learn about yourself.”

- Japanese proverb

Magical Datura

"Would you like to save the world from the degradation and destruction it seems destined for? 

Then step away from shallow mass movements and quietly go to work on your own self-awareness. 

If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. 

If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. 

Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation." - Lao Tzu

Tiny Toad

Mullein Verbascum thapsus

"Wonderful how completely everything in wild nature fits into us, as if truly part and parent of us. The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls, and every bird song, wind song, and; tremendous storm song of the rocks in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love." - John Muir

Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta

“Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things,

 it will come and sit softly on your shoulder…” - Thoreau

Zebra Swallowtail  Protographium marcellus

“I think I could turn and live with the animals, they are so placid and self contained;
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition;
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God;
Not one is dissatisfied-not one is demented with the mania of owning things;
Not one kneels to another, nor his kind that lived thousands of years ago;
Not one is responsible or industrious over the whole earth.” 

'Animals' - a poem by Walt Whitman

Sleeping in the Forest I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly, arranging her dark skirts, her pockets full of lichens and seeds. I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed, nothing between me and the white fire of the stars but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths among the branches of the perfect trees. All night I heard the small kingdoms breathing around me, the insects, and the birds who do their work in the darkness. All night I rose and fell, as if in water, grappling with a luminous doom. By morning I had vanished at least a dozen times into something better. -  Mary Oliver                                                     "His labor is a chant, His idleness a tune; Oh, for a bee's experience Of clovers and of noon!"  from 'The Bee' by Emily Dickinson Walnut  Juglans nigra “The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only paradise we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need, if only we had the eyes to see.” - Abbey 'Desert Solitaire  Hops  Humulus lupulus Ageratum   Prickly Lettuce  Lactuca serriola " If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive."  - Eleonora Duse Redtop Grass  Agrostis gigantea "This is a test to see if your mission on Earth is over: If you are still alive, it's not." - Sir Francis Bacon Squash?  seeds must've washed in Magical Datura Bud “Progress has not followed a straight ascending line, but a spiral with rhythms of progress and retrogression, of evolution and dissolution. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "I, the fiery life of divine wisdom,  I ignite the beauty of the plains,  I sparkle the waters, I burn in the sun,  and the moon, and the stars."  - St. Hildegard Von Bingen    "I hope you will go out and let stories happen to you,  and that you will work them,  water them with your blood and tears  and your laughter 'til they bloom,  'til you yourself burst into bloom."  - Clarissa Pinkola Estes Virginia Creeper  Parthenocissus quinquefolia