Hi River Roaders,

May was the perfect month for the worship theme of finding beauty. Here are some images from the past month on our grounds.

If you build it they will come. The pollinator garden we planted last year on our front plaza attracted this Monarch butterfly to lay eggs on one of the many milkweeds. It’ll be fun to watch the life cycle of this amazing insect.

One of the common grasses by our springs is this fowl manna grass. Our native grasses can be stunning in the right light.

One of the oak trees on our grounds.

Sumac trees in bloom behind Springsview Garden.

We’ve planted several Royal Ferns over the past couple of years and now that they are maturing, they develop these spore-containing fertile leaflets in spring. These ferns can grow up to six feet tall in the right conditions.

Let’s switch to birds. This thrush is visiting our grounds whileg on migration.

Another visitor during spring migration is this great crested flycatcher shown here perching over the pool in Springsview Garden.

Catbirds have nested on our grounds each year and they enjoy taking baths in our springs.

Since we’ve removed many of the invasive vines that have choked our grounds for many years, you can frequently see grackles rooting in the leaf cover. While they are commonly called blackbirds, in the right light you can see their iridescent blue heads.

It was one of the rainy mornings in early May. These were the first ducks I’ve seen in the years I’ve spent on our grounds.

This May was a cooler and wetter than normal. It felt good.

Joe