This is going to be a long post, with lots of pictures and videos of the labyrinth/mandala I visited yesterday. I call it labyrinth/mandala because it does not meet the criteria of labyrinth that I know of, which is one-way-in-one-way-out, but it does look like a lot of mandalas I have colored. It doesn’t really matter what the name of it is for today as it’s pictures and videos of the buzzing, humming, kaleidoscope I was immersed in. There were an estimated thousands of bees, moths, and other critters feeding frenziedly upon the pollen and nectar of the plants still in bloom, which was at least half of them. As I meandered through, doing my thing, none took offense at my presence and I walked amongst them in peace. It was a genuine feeling of being at one with nature. I encourage every person reading to get out there at least once this week and be there. If you don’t get through all of the pics and videos, come back later to see them.

The first pic is a walking stick I saw on my slider screen as I was locking the slider before I left.  It’s amazing how much they look like sticks.  Look closely and you will see two long, slender antennae between the two front legs.  Those things go way out in front of the critter.

To the right is the outmost line of rocks, lavender in the center, and not sure what’s to the left.  Using the cover picture of the youtube above, off to my left is 3 o’clock on the mandala.

Another shot from a different angle.

The two large stones are the entrance to the inner section of a mandala, at 3 o’clock.  The small box is for donations.

About to walk through the stones to the inner section of the mandala.

At the base of the tall wall, I spied these tasty fresh puffballs.  Oh, how I wanted to pick them.

A jumble of chives, just a few in bloom at this time of year.

What a lovely coreopsis!

There were hundreds of these moths? butterflies? there.  The antennae say butterfly but rest say moth.

 

 

Have you ever seen this many echinacea together at a time?

You’re going to love the title of this one:  Sage Grasshopper.

Chamomile.  So green!

Not sure what these are.

Nasturtium.  Not many blooms on them.  Aren’t they pretty!  Taste good in salads.

It’s about thyme!

 

Another unknown but so pretty.

Looks almost like an iris but not sure what it is.

This is a kind of mallow.  I bought one of these on clearance this year.

Close-up of the lovely thyme.

This is an extremely tiny type of sedum that grows close to the ground.  Look at the clover for size comparison purposes.

Looking down on the center circle.

The plantings guide for the mandala.

Very handy chart for showing what the different herbs are used for.

Looking at the entrance from the other direction.

The center circle.

Next is the lichen series.  Different rocks different lichen.  Very cool.

Nice shot of a big boulder and a road leading back to fruit trees, then corn, then evergreens, then poplar.  Oceana County is a beautiful place of rolling hills.  I even see where they are trying to grow grapes in this area now where fruit trees used to be.  We’ll see how that goes.

One of the massive trees that line the property along the road.  To the right is a very nice produce market that also carries souvenirs, baked goods, and fudge, all hand-made.