Celebrating the Creator's Delicate Balance

                                                             Old Man and the Bay of Quinte

 O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

These all look to you to give them their food in due season; when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

 When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.

 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works--
 who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke.
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.
 Bless the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 104: 24-35b

Yesterday I decided to end my backsliding when it comes to my daily psalm reading. I don't have much of a reason, if any, not to spend a few minutes pondering this marvelous spiritual resource that has nourished congregations and individuals of the Judeo/Christian tradition for 3,000 years yet somehow I slip out of this virtuous habit. 

Lo and behold, the psalm portion for Pentecost Sunday and the first three days of the week following is from the lengthy 104, a Creation psalm. This psalm is unique in that it extolls Creator and Creator with only passing mention of humans. There is not a lick of human hubris or superiority and other than a late verse addition it's a hymn of praise for the abundance and diversity of all the creatures of the Earth.

This is a perfect passage for International Biodiversity Day, which is today. I didn't know this when we set our kayaks into the Bay of Quinte at 7:30 this morning (I appreciate that this time is an obscenity for some). Before we were even on the water the cove we launched from was alive with water snakes, always a little disconcerting because they are curious reptiles who will swim up close to get a better look. The two osprey platforms were without nests but these impressive hawks had set up home atop a barge derrick crane at the nearby quarry. 

During our 90 minute paddle we saw swallows, kingfishers, yellow water lilies and mating carp -- they really thrash around! Eventually we looked up to see a bald eagle in a dead tree. Mute swans are an overly abundant invasive species in our area but four flew close by and I'm convinced that the great whooshing sound of their wings was the Holy Spirit in action.  Pentecost indeed. 

I've mentioned before that the ongoing Bay of Quinte Remedial Action Plan is a nearly 40 year project with many successes in bringing back the balance of biodiversity to an identified "area of concern."  When we paddle on the bay we are the beneficiaries of this steady work across a generation. 

We did sit for a moment and offered our brief ritual of gratitude and praise, although we may have been watching for those snakes while we did so. There wasn't another watercraft anywhere. 

Today you might give thanks for the biodiversity of the region in which you live. And while you're at it, how about a prayerful read of Psalm 104? Bless the Lord, all our souls!