Nature

Nature – Daddy Longlegs

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Daddy Longlegs are quite fascinating. Equally fascinating are the false and misleading accounts regarding the nature of these creatures. Many of these accounts have been passed down from generation to generation with the validity rarely challenged. Do they have fangs? Are they venomous? Do they bite, even humans? Are they even spiders? Let us explore the facts. The fossil record shows that daddy longlegs have been around for quite some time.

Myths

It sounds silly today, but as early as the 1600s, English farmers believed that daddy longlegs had a scythe (sickle) that assisted them with each harvest and killing one was thought to be bad luck. Some farmers believed that holding a daddy longlegs with one leg free would help them locate the direction of their lost cattle. And the poor among the French longed to see one in the evening, because they believed it was a sign of good fortune, hope, and happiness.

Environment, Defense & Feeding

Currently, of thousands of daddy longlegs species, six are critically endangered with a high possibility of extinction, eight are endangered, and two are vulnerable. Their habitat is being destroyed, degraded, and even lost due to man-made factors such as coffee growing, urban development, runoff pollution, and cave tourism.

Daddy longlegs live on every continent except Antarctica. In the temperate northern hemisphere, their legs tend to be longer; a male’s legs are also longer than a female’s legs. Their preferred environment is dark and moist, although they can also thrive in the desert. In your house, they would prefer a crawl space, your basement, or garage. Outside they live under logs and rocks, in tree burrows, and in sodden grassland. They have a 2-7 year lifecycle; taking a single year to develop from an egg into an adult.

Interestingly, daddy longlegs do not produce silk, therefore you will only find them in a web if they have fallen victim to the web spun by another type of spider.

Daddy longlegs are social creatures. They gather in thick, clustered communities of at least 300,000 individuals called aggregations. Researchers think that they aggregate for mating, temperature and humidity control, and to deter predators. When threatened by a parasite or predator, the entire aggregation signals a warning by excreting a foul scent. They then bob in a disorienting motion. Finally, they scatter quickly and individually. This foul scent is also used to communicate with one another, perfectly explaining the synchronized defense tactic. Other defenses include blending in with the surroundings, use of its armored body, playing dead to repulse, or willfully detaching a leg or legs to disorient a predator. Loss of a leg or legs is a permanent disability that occurs in at least 60% of their community.

They are poor-sighted creatures with a single pair of eyes, each one mounted on an eye turret that act as light sensors. You may wonder how they acquire food with such limited vision and no web in which to catch an unsuspecting meal. Researchers have concluded that they are most receptive to the light emitted by glowworms, which is a noteworthy portion of their diet. Although they are primarily scavengers of decomposing vegetable and animal matter, they are also opportunistic predators. As omnivores, they also eat plants, fungi, carrion (dead things), invertebrates (certain insects, like centipedes) and snails.

Daddy longlegs use small, hairy appendages near their mouth as sensory organs called pedipalps. These are not fangs nor venomous glands that cause harm by injecting venom into the prey to subdue it. The hairs secrete a poisonous and microscopic, glue-like substance that quickly subdues its prey, even those twice its own size. Although the poisonous secretion may cause harm through topical contact or ingestion by another creature, it is weak and therefore, not strong enough to harm humans.

Researchers have not, to date, found any evidence that daddy longlegs have fangs, are venomous, nor that they are capable of biting humans. Equally as important, they are not spiders.

In spite of their poor eyesight, daddy longlegs are able to sense their surroundings with the sensitive tips of their eight legs. The two longest legs are used as feelers while three legs are lifted and the other three legs touch the ground at the same time. This movement is compared to basketball dribbling or a bobbing motion. They keep these sensory organs in optimal condition by sliding one leg at a time through their mouth, in a motion called leg-threading.

Mistaken Identity 

The term, “granddaddy or daddy longlegs” is commonly used with reference to three different creatures: the crane fly, the cellar spider, and the harvestman. Only one is truly a spider. Only one is truly a daddy longlegs.

The crane fly is not a true spider so it is not a daddy longlegs.

The cellar spider is an arachnid in the family Phocidae. It has a two-part segmented body, eight legs, and eight eyes that are clustered together on the foremost segment of its body. It is a true spider, but it is not a daddy longlegs.

The harvestman is an arachnid in its own separate order Opiliones. It has a single, pill-like body without segments, eight legs, and a single pair of eyes. It does not have fangs or venom glands nor is it able to bite. The poisonous secretion found on its pedipalp hairs is actually a “glue” that subdues its prey, either by topical contact or ingestion. The more the prey struggles, the more stuck it becomes. It does not produce silk to spin webs. The harvestman is a true daddy longlegs.

As with daddy longlegs, there may be times in our lives when people mistake our nature, abilities, and limitations. There may also be times in our lives when people believe things about us that simply are not true. At times, we may become our own harshest critic; finding ourselves listening to the lies of the enemy without much resistance, surrendering in hopeless defeat.

Daddy longlegs are clueless to the myths and mistaken identities that have been imposed upon them, but we humans, we know what we think about ourselves, and more often than not, are aware of the beliefs and feelings that others have about us.

Beloved, let us not surrender in hopeless defeat, for we know that the thoughts imposed upon us cannot compare to the truth known by the Lord, the spiritual gifts and talents given by the Holy Spirit, and our true identity and life that is hidden in Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is to know the beauty of proving all things, knowing the power by which we may rebuke falsities, and to hold fast to that which edifies and is good. Stand firm in truth.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 Corinthians 10:4–6

​Sources: spiders.ucr.edu/daddy-long-legs; treehugger.com/facts-about-daddy-longlegs-will-surprise-you-4864488; livescience.com/are-daddy-longlegs-the-most-venomous-spiders; budgetbrotherstermite.com/daddy-long-legs-myth-facts; news.fnal.gov/2018/10/daddy-long-legs-15-interesting-facts; callnorthwest.com/2019/11/the-myth-of-the-grandaddy-long-legs; entomologytoday.org/2014/10/02/harvestmen-use-glue-to-capture-prey

Image credit: By Olei – Self-published work by Olei, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=331894

Nature – Snow is to Live With

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In the world of birds and beasts, snow is not a nuisance, but welcome as the rain and the sun. It is an insulator, and a warm shelter for survival.

Birds and beasts feature some clever devices to keep on top of the snow. Some species of grouse have little horny scutes, or comblike points, that spread out on either side of the toes and act as snow rafts. The ptarmigan grows feathers on his feet. The Canadian lynx has enormous paws, more than twice as big as those of his cousin, the bobcat. Snowshoe hares sport powerful hind legs with large wide furry feet, with toes spreading out like snowshoes.

Creatures less specialized for snow than the lynx and ptarmigan have been forced to make use of one of the outstanding physical properties of snow—its poor conductivity of heat. Mice, several species of birds, porcupines and shrews go down under the snow, where the white crystals hold their body heat like a mountain of insulation.

Pheasants and quail often flutter their wings and wedge themselves into a snow pocket; grouse fly headfirst into a snowbank for the night. The danger is crusting, and birds are sometimes iced under the snow. The crust must thaw within a day and a half, or they may never get out.

Creatures unspecialized for dealing with snow cope with it in unique ways. Deer and moose, cottontails and squirrels beat down trails for easier travel, as deliberately as one shovels a walk. During snowstorms, herds of deer have been heard tramping down newly fallen snow, snapping twigs and limbs to keep their yard open to pantries of grasses and mosses they need to keep alive.

Most fascinating is the development of underground cities by wintering animals. Under the snow are millions of rooms, tunnels and roadways—drilled, packed, dug, and bitten by wintering animals, tunneled and carved with a nose or hot breath until a cross section of a week-old snowstorm looks like Swiss cheese.

The pikas or conies, relatives of rabbits, with short ears and no tails to get cold, live their daily lives six feet under the snow. They make sitting rooms, zigzag halls and corridors leading to barns of sweet grasses that have been stored during the summer months.

Mice, shrews, weasels and otters all carve roads and rooms beneath the snow. The star-nosed mole makes cloverleaves and roller coasters, turnpikes and apartments and he does it faster than anything.

Most wild animals and dogs love the snow. Minks and weasels play in it, leaping like darning needles in and out, diving into the snow like water.

Upon this white paper of winter is written marks of talon and claw, hoof and nose. To the birds and beasts, snow is as much a part of this world as the night.

Our Amazing World of Nature, Its Marvels and Mysteries, Jean George, ©1969, 210–212.

“No finite mind can fully comprehend the existence, the power, the wisdom, or the works of the Infinite One. Says the sacred writer: ‘Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.’ Job 11:7–9.” Christian Education, 196

Nature – The Bummer Lamb: Rejected & Adopted

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“When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me.”

Psalm 27:10

The most painful rejection, perhaps, is that of a child by an earthly parent. How sweet it is to know that your Creator, Heavenly Father, and Good Shepherd cares for and loves you deeply. This we may learn from sheep.

The physical reasons a ewe mother rejects its lamb may include the inability to provide nourishment, low to no milk supply or udder mastitis (engorged). A ewe can sense sickness or a defect in its lamb; some are visual and others become more distinguishable with time. The psychological reasons a ewe mother rejects its lamb may include her first time lambing, separation from its lamb for a significant period of time, confusion, fear, no interest in bonding, or a difficult birth. A ewe also may have passed away during or after lambing, leaving its lamb an orphan.

A shepherd or farmer, in many of these instances, will assess the ewe’s willingness to allow its lamb to come close and nurse. In displaying complete detachment (broken bond) and desired distance, a ewe will often run away, head butt or kick its lamb. If the lamb is unable to be paired with an adoptive ewe that is actively nursing its own lamb, a rejected lamb (a bummer) may be auctioned off as soon as possible. This often occurs when a shepherd or farmer has a large flock and is time constrained, as the lamb will need to be bottle-fed every 2-3 hours for the first two weeks and then every four hours for the following weeks until weaned.

Auctions, farmer’s markets, feed stores, and agriculture extension schools may allow the opportunity for a farm to purchase livestock or an adoptive family to obtain the orphan as a pet. Whether a rejected lamb is raised by its shepherd, a farmer or is adopted, it will need immediate attention and loving care. It will be assessed and if needed, its temperature raised. It will be placed in a draftless, confined area in the home, swaddled in warm towels, placed on heated bedding, and clothed in a sweater throughout the day. When bottle-feeding, young lambs receive colostrum, which provides hormones. Mature lambs are given a milk replacer.

It will be weaned between 6-8 weeks or when it reaches 25-30 pounds. Even so, supplemental grain may be needed, as it may lack successful foraging skills in comparison to a natural-raised lamb. When weaned, it is placed with the flock for interaction as soon as possible to learn common sheep mannerisms: roles of dominance/submissiveness, response to safety instincts, grazing, and similar survival skills. Those who adopt the lamb as a family pet may or may not have additional lambs, ewes, or rams to introduce the newling to mannerisms. Thus, it is imperative to consider that the lamb is not meant to be solitary for optimal holistic health.

Praise the Lord, the rejected and orphaned one is adopted into His fold. “He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” Psalm 95:7. “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom … .” Isaiah 40:11

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the beloved.” Ephesians 1:3–6

Nature – The Lamb

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The Lamb: Rejected & Restored

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah 53:6

“ ‘I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,’ says the Lord God. ‘I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.’ ”

Ezekiel 34:15, 16

We are familiar with the Biblical parables of the lost found in Luke 15—the sheep, coin, and prodigal son. We are also familiar with instances of those who have been rejected (driven away), broken or sick: the poor, fatherless, weak, and outcast. The beauty in the Lord’s pursuit is in sight, even to this day. Here, for example, we may learn from sheep.

A shepherd or farmer, although not often spoken of, may be skilled in maternal reconnection (restored bond). A shepherd or farmer who notices a ewe mother’s rejection of her lamb, will assess her willingness to allow the lamb to come close and nurse. Freely, on occasion, she will allow the lamb to suck when distracted, eating hay or grain, grazing, or sleeping. However, an occasional suckle is inadequate for nutritional benefit. And so, immediate reorientation must take place. The ewe is placed securely in a bonding pen or head gate to allow its lamb to nurse. Ideally, within three days, they are both placed in natural surroundings separate from the flock; in the interim, their interactions are closely monitored. Most often, successful bonding occurs and the ewe and its lamb are placed once again with their flock.

A restored lamb will thrive in health, learn mannerisms, nurse appropriately, gain weight, play with other lambs, prance on all four limbs, run, climb, express curiosity in its environment, nap throughout the day, sleeping 8–16 hours daily. The lamb will also establish a bond with the shepherd, farmer, or adoptive caregiver and will retain him or her in its knowledge, and distinctively knowing his or her voice, is the first to come running when called.

However, a rejected lamb will fail to thrive and may have a sickness or defect. The lamb may be unable to retain warmth or exhibit a strong suck. A weak suck is inadequate for nutritional sustenance; making both natural nursing and bottle-feeding difficult. The lamb will require stomach-tube feedings which has a low survival rate. Failure to thrive during its first few weeks may ultimately lead to starvation and suffering, even death.

What a blessing, The Lord is not willing that any shall perish! Just as the Good Shepherd searches for and rejoices over the lost, He searches for and restores the rejected, broken, and sick:

“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ‘Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth,’ who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.  For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:21–25

The Lamb: Invisible Things, Clearly Seen

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“So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; we will show forth Your praise to all generations.”

Psalm 79:13

In the Bible, we find sheep used in many ways, both literally and spiritually. Jesus is called the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). In the sanctuary system, a perfect lamb, one without blemish—representing Jesus’ future sacrifice for mankind—was brought as a sacrifice for the confession of sin. God’s people are called His sheep. And in the parable of the ninety and nine, Jesus the Shepherd went out in search of the one lost sheep to bring it safely again to the fold.

Sheep are thought to be timid, passive, and unintelligent. On the contrary, research shows that they are complex, individualistic, and social. They are even capable of problem solving and have an IQ similar to that of cattle and pigs. They display intelligence in their ability to self-heal when sick. Additionally, they have excellent memories and display emotions.

Newborn sheep are called lambs—a ram if male, a ewe if female. Mating typically takes place in the fall with births occurring from March to May, but can begin as early as February. Both ewes and rams can mate as early as 7-9 months after birth. Ewes are pregnant for approximately five months with the ewe’s major growth occurring in the last month of pregnancy. First-time mother ewes often have a single lamb, whereas a seasoned ewe may have one to three lambs.

Birthing the lambs is also known as lambing. The typical birth weight of a lamb is between 5-12 pounds. At full-growth, a sheep can grow to approximately four feet in length and weigh 99-350 pounds. If the sheep remains healthy, it can have a lifespan of 10-12 years.

A normal lambing event occurs without any difficulty or intervention. Difficult births are often caused because a lamb is not in the right position for birthing, entanglement in the umbilical cord, the ewe’s pelvic area is small, or her cervix has not properly dilated. Size and weight of both lamb and ewe, disease, and stress can also result in difficult births. In these cases, human intervention may be required to prevent the death of the lamb, the ewe or both.

Once the lamb has been born, the ewe begins the bonding process by licking it dry. With multiple lambs, the ewe will often clean them in the order of birth. The ewe also bonds through the sense of smell which allows her to recognize her lamb(s) by amniotic fluid, diet, and organic compounds in the wool. This bond also contributes to the ewe’s ability to recognize her own lambs by their bleat (baaa) if they wander off.

By observing the lifecycle of sheep, we can more clearly see the effects and results of sin. When we consider the creation of this world up until Adam and Eve sinned, we can appreciate the natural order of how God intended the world and those who live in it to function and live. Before sin there was only the manifestation of God’s power and love. But even today, though marred by sin, all of nature still bears witness to His invisible divine attributes—eternal power and love.

Praise God for eyes to see! May we all look forward to experiencing nature in the new heaven and new earth with our precious Lord and Saviour.

“Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” Psalm 100:3

When one takes the time to enjoy the splendor, beauty, and intricate creations in nature, it is difficult to imagine that one cannot see that it is all by intelligent design. There are no “big bang theories” or “beautiful little accidents.” The Lord, our Creator and Sustainer of life, created all things to testify of His love and to supply our every need.

Sources: christiantoday.com.au/news/sheep-are-pretty-dumb; onekindplanet.org/animal/sheep; sheep101.info/lambing

Nature – The Beaver

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The beaver is an engineer with amazing features and knowledge. It builds its dam, up to hundreds of feet long, with such engineering skill that men study the beaver’s dam to know how to build strength into a dam and how to channel water.

Building a dam means spending a lot of time in the water and the beaver has special physical equipment that enables him to do that. A protective nose and ear flaps that close when it goes under the water are part of this equipment. The flaps close so that he can freely swim in the water and open when he surfaces so he can breathe again. His eyelids are transparent and close when he is under the water. This allows for protection from debris and irritants in the water and yet allows him to see very well.

Beavers have uniquely designed, self-sharpening front incisors which continue to grow as they are worn down allowing for a continuous and sharp supply of front teeth. They use these sharp front teeth to cut young tender branches to a specific size to be stored in the mud at the bottom of the pond for their food supplies in the winter. In order to retrieve the branches, the beaver needs to chew them underwater. They are able to do this without water entering their mouth with the aid of fur mouth flaps between their front incisors and their rear molar teeth. These flaps of fur seal off the mouth behind the front incisors.

To build a dam, the beaver chooses the location and gnaws away at trees and branches along the bank, which when properly placed cuts off the flow of water. Nearby, a lodge is built into the bank of the stream or river. These dome-shaped structures are made of sticks, grass, and moss. The lodge provides a home for a single family of beavers consisting of as many as 12. The purpose of the dam is to create a “moat” around the lodge, providing protection from predators.

Beavers love their homes and will typically remain in the same location for years, until the food supply runs out. Since the animal lives just ten years in the wild, it could spend its entire life in the same place.

The beaver’s ability to swim long distances without harm is unlike other air-breathing water creatures. He can swim submerged for up to a half-mile or more. In order to do this without lack of oxygen to the brain, the beaver has large lungs and liver to store more air and oxygenated blood. His heart also compensates by beating more slowly when he dives. Blood is also restricted to the extremities during swimming allowing the brain to receive more oxygen.

The beaver is often in cold water that has ice formed on the top. In order for the skin to keep from freezing in this frigid water, the fur of the beaver is oiled by two large oil glands that produce a rich, thick, deep yellow oily liquid, which the beaver spreads on its fur to waterproof it. He also has two layers of fur and then a layer of fat just beneath the skin which helps further protect it from its cold winter environment.

The beaver is truly another example of a wise plan developed by a caring, Creator God. Such variety of special features could not have evolved over time and by chance. All of the physical features inherent to the beaver must be present and fully functional from the beginning for it to survive.

Adapted from Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution, Volume 1 and The Evolution of a Creationist by Jobe Martin, D.M.D. Th. M., Biblical Discipleship Publishers, Rockwall, Texas 75032; bestlifeonline.com/why-beavers-build-dams

Nature – Why Don’t They Get Stuck?

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Flies and moths unwittingly find themselves trapped in a spider’s web, hopelessly entangled and unable to free themselves. But the spider can rush across the web to enjoy a tasty, fresh meal without being trapped itself. A study published by two Costa Rican biologists some years ago suggests that spiders stay unstuck thanks to a combination of behavior, anatomy and, yes, even an oily non-stick coating.

Webs typically look something like a wheel with a series of spirals that form the round shape connected by spokes running from the outside spiral to the center of the web. It appears that the spiral strands are coated with droplets of adhesive. When a bug flies into a spider’s web it is instantly stuck, or if you walk into a web, the strands stick to your skin, hair, and clothing. Uck!

Spiders avoid getting stuck by walking on the spoke strands which do not have adhesive on them. If by chance the spider should stray into a sticky area, it will very gently pull the trapped leg back. The key word being gently. Pulling quickly or jerkily, like a bug trying to avoid becoming a main course, causes the adhesive to harden and trap the body.

In addition, the spider has oily substances and special hairs on its legs that prevent it from getting stuck, and it tiptoes carefully from strand to strand.

A spider is also a very careful groomer. It pulls each of its legs through its mouth scraping off any silk bits and other debris that may have gotten stuck to its claws or bristles. This grooming likely ensures that its legs and body are less prone to sticking if it should suffer a misstep in the web.

The Most Singular Orchestra on Earth

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The musician drew his thigh over the teeth of a saw and began to bow a six-beat phrase. Another instrumentalist came in on a belly drum, amplifying a low tattoo into a siren-like wail. A third snapped his head against a wooden board, and a fourth, lying on his back with his feet in the air, made music by arching his spine. Most of this group can be heard around the summer world in every field and hedge, for the musicians are a grasshopper, a cicada, a death-watch beetle, and a click beetle, the conspicuous soloists of this orchestra. You can listen to a fuller ensemble on any summer night on the stage they prefer—hot grass, dry earth, and, for good measure, an August moon quivering in a sea of heat.

Familiar to almost everyone are the crickets with their fat bodies, long antennae, big heads—and their endearing habit of singing from the hearth and doorstep. Crickets sing with a distinctive “creeeak, creeeak,” produced by rubbing a scraper on the left wing against a file on the right. Cricket songs have meaning. Some are love calls, others are danger signals, and others are simply “I am here” ditties.

Grasshoppers, known in the Bible as locusts, use their thighbones as bows. A grasshopper, standing on his “hands,” lifts his big back legs until the femurs rub against a line of small stiff pegs on the wing. This produces that dead-battery sound in the summer meadow. The grasshopper also has a flight song. As he takes off, he snaps his two big top wings against the smaller inside ones and produces that familiar crackle of grasshopper jumps.

The katydid is a handsome, brilliant-green creature, with long, graceful antennae. He makes music by lifting his wings and running the edge of one over some 70 sawlike points on the other. In the base of their wings, they possess a miniaturized amplifier, less than one eighth of an inch in size, composed of chitin, the substance from which the strong outside skeleton of the insect is made. Thinner than paper, yet stronger than a comparable thickness of steel, this tiny disk-shaped device can amplify an almost inaudible scratch into a crackling “zeep” that will carry a mile.

The loudest members of the insect orchestra are the “drummers” that literally beat one object against another. The cicadas are the classical drummers. Those with the two-year cycle are about an inch and a quarter long, chunky, often with beautiful crystal wings. The sounds they make are courtship calls, a buzz saw high in the treetops that begins softly and rises to a frantic, earsplitting climax.

Of all the drummers, the death-watch beetle is the most astonishing, for this musician hits his head on wood to beat a tune. He does this on woodwork and old furniture. These clicking concerts can go on for years.

Then there are the “incidental musicians.” These are the flies, bees, and mosquitoes. One study of a housefly revealed that it whines the note F in the middle octave by vibrating its wings 21,120 times a minute.

Bees and wasps also use their wings to create sounds. They hum when peacefully gathering food, “pipe” when calling to mates, and “roar” when attacked.

Humming, crackling, drumming, roaring—in the soft August sun—the band plays on.

Excerpts from Our Amazing World of Nature, Its Marvels and Mysteries, Jean George, 36–38.

“We will sing to stringed instruments all the days of our life, at the house of the Lord.” Isaiah 38:20 RV

Who knows. Maybe God’s little orchestra will join with the saints in singing praises to our Creator.

Morning Glory Cloud

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The sky glories in beautiful cloud formations. Three of the most fascinating could be billow clouds, wave clouds and roll clouds.

Billow clouds mimic cresting waves of water. They form where two horizontal winds meet, warmer air over the top of cooler air. The upper layers of warm air, which are moving at very high speeds, pick up the top layer of cloud that is passing through and forms these wave-like rolls. The air then drops like a wave making these clouds look like breaking ocean waves.

The wave or undulating cloud is a distinctive but rare cloud that appears to be rippling waves in the skies. These wave-like structures form on the underside of established clouds and make the overall cloud look like a rough sea surface when they are viewed from below.

Most spectacular of all clouds are roll clouds. Roll clouds are a low tubular cloud formation stretching from horizon to horizon. The cloud formation is natural, but incredibly rare. They are typically found along coastal regions resulting from a sea breeze or cold front.

The longest known roll cloud is called the Morning Glory because it always appears at dawn. The southern part of the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia, is the only known location where Morning Glory clouds can be regularly observed and forecast with some degree of accuracy due to the configuration of land and sea and orientation to the wind in the area. From late September to early November, the sky develops strange rolls of clouds. These clouds form in a series of bands that can be up to 620 miles long, only 300 to 600 feet above the ground and can move at speeds up to 37 miles per hour.

The Cape York Peninsula extends north between the Gulf of Carpentaria to the west and the Coral Sea to the east. During the day, the breeze from the Coral Sea coast blows in from the east and the breeze from the gulf blows in from the west. The two breezes collide over inland parts of the peninsula, forcing the air to rise where they form a line of clouds over the spine of the peninsula. When night falls, the air cools and descends, meeting a surface inversion which forms over the gulf. The densities in this stable layer are different above and below the inversion.

The air descending from the peninsula to the east goes underneath the inversion layer and this generates a series of waves or rolling cylinders which travel across the gulf. These cylinders of air roll along the underside of the inversion layer, so that the air rises at the front of the wave and sinks at the rear. As day breaks, the air is saturated enough so that the rising air in the front produces the cloud, which forms the leading edge of the cylinder, and evaporates in the back, hence forming the full Morning Glory roll cloud. The cloud lasts until the surface inversion disappears with the heating of the day.

Morning Glory clouds can appear as one solitary cloud or more frequently as successive waves of up to ten, strung out like rope lines across the landscape. Technically, this makes the Morning Glory the world’s biggest wave.

Taken from Wonder World – Roll Clouds – Clouds That Look a Tidal Wave; thereaderwiki.com/Morning Glory Cloud

“God’s glory in the heavens, the innumerable worlds in their orderly revolutions, ‘the balancings of the clouds’ (Job 37:16), the mysteries of light and sound, of day and night—all were objects of study by the pupils of earth’s first school.” Child Guidance, 45

Nature – Creatures of the Air

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“Oh that I had wings like a dove! then I would fly, and be at rest.”  Psalm 55:6

In the domain of hawk, gull and sparrow, physiology and aerial prowess are synonymous. A bird is simply a masterpiece of engineering—the perfect flying machine—supremely crafted by God and endowed with the attributes for a life in the skies. Its breast muscles, which operate its wings, are enormous, in some birds, comprising 33% of their total body weight. At the same time, a bird’s skeletal system is incredibly light. The bones of a pelican, with a wingspan of nearly six feet, weigh only about five ounces, yet they are strong and flexible enough to withstand the constant stress of maneuverable flight.

Add to this package highly efficient digestive and respiratory systems, a large and powerful heart, and feathers that streamline, insulate, and provide the necessary lift for wings and tail, and it is easy to understand how a bird in the air is described in Proverbs 30:18, 19 as a sight “too wonderful for me.”

The methods and techniques of flight generally fall into a few basic categories. Flapping or power flight involves a strong downward stroke that results in rapid lift and forward thrust. Generally, the larger the bird the slower it flaps its wings. In contrast, the hummingbird will beat its wings up to 80 times a second while performing what has been called the most versatile display of aerial skill in all of God’s creation. The tiny bird can hover or fly in all directions—forward, backward, or to the side, depending upon its needs. Its rigid wings move in a unique figure 8 motion, powered by exceptionally strong muscles and a flexible swivel joint at its shoulder. The tail works as a rudder controlling the direction of movement. Not surprisingly, the hummingbird expends tremendous amounts of energy and to survive, must consume twice its body weight in food every day.

Gliding and soaring are far less demanding forms of flight, yet once again, the elements of aeronautical design are clearly seen. The turkey vulture soars, riding on air deflected upward from cliffs as its wings work in harmony with the surrounding wind currents, while a heron spreads its enormous wings in a slow approach to its nest. Large primary feathers at the end of each wing offer precise control of both speed and direction. A similar design enables a condor to ride for hours on spirals of warm air. Again, a huge wing surface allows for effortless gliding as the bird of prey searches the valley floor for food.

But for all the soaring wonder and power that so abundantly fills the skies, perhaps the supreme testimony to the Creator’s gifts of flight and life itself is written on the tissue-thin wings of the Monarch butterfly. Its wings are driven by powerful muscles designed into the insect’s upper body, the thorax, essential for migration. Advancing steadily, they ride on rising columns of warm air that can elevate them thousands of feet. These expert gliders can travel more than 50 miles a day, flying upwards of 3,000 miles to reach their winter home.

God reveals Himself to man through the things He has made. Each day in the wonders of land, sky, and sea He presents us with a vivid picture of His existence and character. It is a continuing revelation, as exciting and diverse as the creatures He has brought into being. In the majestic grace of a bird or a butterfly in flight an eternal truth shines clear—the God of all creation is real and alive, His power and wisdom are without limit, and He cares and provides abundantly for the life that He has made.

Wonders of God’s Creation, Animal Kingdom: Great are Thy Works, ©2004.