Gleaming like a Jewel

My meanderings take me a different route each day.  This is my way of getting a bit of exercise all the while finding a bit of relaxation.  Hiking does that for me.  I enjoy seeing things that go unnoticed most of the time.  I am not out to run some marathon nor even hike briskly.  I just mosey about looking.  Over the course of an hour, I might head down the hillside to the pier then back around the back to the creek.  Each route shows me something different.

Today, while in the back by the citrus trees, I spied a small gleam in one of the lime trees.  A bit of a glint sparkling with the setting sun.  Hmmm?  Lime trees are not supposed to sparkle!  Time for a bit of investigation!  Careful of the three inch long thorns, I eased my way between the lemon and lime trees to the one in the back corner.  The little jewel sparkled brightly as if leading me the direct path to it.  Once I neared the tree, I realized that the glistening gem was a bit of tree resin that had oozed from the nearby peach tree.  The limbs of that tree had intermingled with the limbs of the lime tree.  I reached out and touched the droplet causing it to fall to the ground.  Oh, my!  I picked it up and toted it to a nearby post that just happened to hold a nice white stone! I found that bit of interest on a previous hike.  The stone provided a nice backdrop for photographing the resin droplet.  I was astonished at how beautiful it was!  That small droplet glimmered in the setting sun and made it appear to be some fantastic jewel.   And, in a way, it was.  It was one of Mother Nature's gemstones that adorned her trees as elegantly as diamonds do the wealthy.  I, for one, think that this interesting bit of tree resin was every bit as gorgeous as expensive jewels.  The rare sighting of it sparkling in the fading sun was a sight to behold.

Now if this was the right type of tree resin and it went through some marvelous changes over a period of time, it could possibly become a "gemstone" in its own right.  Amber is just that..fossilized tree resin.  Amber is one of the so-called gemstones that always interested me.  I loved the fact that sometimes a small insect or other critter would become stuck in the resin while it was still "sticky" and then be fossilized inside.  The inclusion of a critter would be of great interest to scientists as they could study something from long ago that was still intact.  Hmmm...again!  I examined my piece of tree resin!  Sure enough, there were two tiny bees stuck fast inside the globule!  Not that these bees were anything special now but just on the outside chance that a million or so years from now, my sparkly jewel was found as amber, those two bees might be extraordinary finds!

One never knows just what bit of interest can be found on a hike.  Even if the hike is in your own backyard, examine everything closely!  Look at things with a questioning mind.  Never let even the most minute vision go unexplored.  The world has so many things that are overlooked by most folks.  Open the mind and let the world inside.  It can be an amazing thing!