The Hero

Here's a beetle that may be a hero to areas ravaged by invasives like Emerald Tree Borers that are destroying our forests.

This beetle, the Red Flat Bark Beetle(Cucujus clavipes), lays eggs in holes created by borers. Little Red's larva then eat the borers larva---a true hero!

The Refuge of the Farthest Meadow

I went out to the farthest meadow,

I lay down in the deepest shadow;

And I said unto the earth, “Hold me,

And unto the night, “O enfold me,”

And unto the wind petulantly

I cried, “You know not for you are free!”

And I begged the little leaves to lean

Low and together for a safe screen;

Then to the stars I told my tale:

That is my home-light, there in the vale,

“And O, I know that I shall return,

But let me lie first mid the unfeeling fern.

“For there is a flame that has blown too near,

And there is a name that has grown too dear,

And there is a fear …”

And to the still hills and cool earth and far sky I made moan,

The heart in my bosom is not my own!

“O would I were free as the wind on wing;

Love is a terrible thing

Love is a Terrible Thing by Grace Fallow Norton