My daughter and I take to the river again on a hot afternoon stroll. We take off our shoes and wade into the currents. It’s amazing how much colder the water is if you stand in the fast moving flows compared with the wider, slower sections. Needless to say, we splash over toward burbling cascades by the rocks.
Here, tiny mayflies zip in and out of the shafts of sunlight. When you get your eye in you can trace their extraordinary collective flight-patterns. Like the river below them, they stream together, back and forth in formation. Whilst they are moving individually in a blur, relative to each other, they are virtually static.
It is only then that I notice that tentatively, as they hurtle about us, they inch ever closer to one another, pairing off into mating couples. I’m watching a dance. I’m watching little unions happening about me. And the sparks of new life that will kick off the cycle once again.
Tuning into the mayfly’s movement felt like tuning into a different radio frequency—a different strata of life that would normally be invisible to me. I wonder how many other parts of surrounding ecosystems we normally are unaware of?
Newsletter: About nature, mindfulness and happiness
Want to come for a walk? Join me as I explore the natural world and describe to you the fascinating things I find.
Slow down, escape your troubles, and let me whisk you away to somewhere calm…
Leave a Reply