Happy Sunday! This week, with Beth from Wandering Dawgs leading the challenge, it’s about all the astonishment and wonderment this world has to offer.

I am in constant astonishment of plants’ resiliency in nature. All plants start out as a tiny seed. That seed germinates and out will come the cotyledon leaves – sometimes two and sometimes three – and soon, that plant will grow, it may turn into a tree and it may be cut down before that phase.

Nonetheless, I find plants are one of the most incredible species in the world. They are so much more resilient than we give them credit for. Just look at the wonky looking tree! That was taken at Crater of the Moon National Monument in Idaho and I found it incredible that this tree is still signs of life, even at over 2,000 years old. The tree survived the last volcanic eruption over 2,000 years ago and it’s still surviving every day. What about that little plant surviving in a bed of gypsum at White Sands National Park?

Amazing, right?

I am astonished by those that can survive in the wild. Long ago, a majority of us humans would be fine in the wild but as technology advances and more and more of us no longer need to hunt for our next meal, we are no longer like our wild ancestors.

Lastly, I am in astonishment and amazement of all the wonderful landscapes in nature. For example, who would’ve thought that after many many years of constant wind, eroding away the layers of sand that made up this great mountain, that it would create this great echoing chamber. How about the wind depositing all the dust and sand from the nearby mountains to create this “desert” in the middle of nowhere? Oh, and did you know that is what the Grand Canyon would probably look like before it became the way it is now?

Incredible, isn’t it?