"Let Heaven and Nature Sing" - The Sights and Sounds of the Boreal Forest 🥰🌳🎶🕊️💕🦋🌻🌾

August 17, 2026

"You Fill Up My Senses, Like a Walk in the Forest." 🎶🕊️💕🌳🌲🪉

Lately I've been led to take in all of the wonderful sights and sounds of nature, whenever I go for a walk along the trails. I hear the chirping crickets serenading in the background, heralding the end of the summer and the beginning of autumn. I also hear blue jays, sparrows, and chickadees singing. And the sound of rustling leaves on the trees, whenever a cool refreshing wind blows on them. They sound like they are clapping sometimes.

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!" 💖🎶🕊️

The music of Heaven is everywhere. We can even hear it in nature. And I believe that all of God's creatures are singing their praises to God, in their own little ways.

There is one particular bird call, that is very unique in Northwestern Ontario. It is one of the most sweetest bird calls that I have ever heard. The song of the white-throated sparrow. I remember hearing it a lot when we went camping. These birds have been especially loud this year. I think they can sense that Jesus is going to return soon. And they are also heralding His return through their praise and song.

The Song of the White-Throated Sparrow:

Lyrics: "The Birdies Sing," by Raffi 🥰🎶🕊️💕

The Amazing Sights of Nature: ☘️

Earlier today I went for another walk along the trails. Every time I go I see something new. Even though it may all appear to look ordinary at first.

There are always lots of hidden treasures that are yet to be discovered.

Sometimes you can even notice things that you didn't even realize were there at first glance. I had a few experiences like this today, that I will share here.

The first thing I was led to see was a tree that I have never seen growing here before. It is called an Ohio Buckeye tree.

At first I thought it might be a Beaked Hazelnut tree, a Beechnut tree, or maybe a Butternut Walnut. But it was later discovered that it is an Ohio Buckeye tree. The tree produces nuts that are surrounded by a spiky shell. The fruit and leaves are not fit for consumption by most wildlife or humans. So it is an ornamental tree planted for decorative purposes.

Here are a few picture of the tree and its fruits:

"From Small Acorns, Mighty Oaks Grow" 🍁🌻🌾

After I saw the Ohio Buckeye tree, my eyes then fell on a recognizable oak tree that was planted in the same field. I was curious about whether or not I would discover an acorn to give to one of my students. Last year we read a story together, and he told me that he had never seen an acorn before. I told him that if I ever found an acorn, I would give it to him.

Acorns are not very common to find here, despite there being a few oak trees scattered around the community. Squirrels and chipmunks tend to eat the acorns, before they can even be discovered and harvested by humans.

But today was different. And to my amazement and surprise, I didn't just find one acorn. Instead, I found a "bumper crop" of acorns on the ground just under this tree. Most of them were stuck together in pairs. And they kind of resemble tiny "bells" in a way. I think it might signify a "double portion" or a "double harvest." And I also managed to find one acorn with a cracked shell showing the contents ready to be harvested.

Another unique find was seeing these two iridescent beetles sitting on top of a small leaf on a plant not too far from the oak tree. They looked like little "rainbow bugs" with their brilliant shiny colours, reflecting the light of the sun. 🌈🪲

The picture doesn't really capture the lovely colours that I saw. But they still look amazing. When I first noticed them there, I thought they were glowing like fireflies.