🍂🐝 At the end of October on the Northern Hemisphere, common wasps (Vespula vulgaris) enter a phase of retreat and transformation. Most worker wasps and drones die off as the weather cools, while newly fertilized queens find sheltered spots to hibernate through winter, preparing to start a new colony in spring. During this period, the few remaining wasps seek out the last bits of nourishment before the temperatures drop too low for them to remain active.

🌷🌳🍂☃️ When I see a wasp nibbling on a dead spider at this time of year, it becomes a symbol of the last efforts in nature’s cycle. She herself is bound to the limits of her lifecycle, shaped by the greater rhythms of the seasons. She represents a moment when even the smallest beings, like ourselves, must align our actions with nature’s cycle, adapting to external conditions that shape and connect us all.

In this transitional season, the wasp reminds me that our interconnectedness with the world is constantly shifting, just as we must adapt and find our place within the phases of life, always dependent on the larger cycle that sustains us.

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🌦🍂 Last day of September: This paper wasp (Polistes dominula) is dying. In September, all of them die, except for the young queens. It is cold and rainy, and it no longer has the strength to fly.

Wasps evoke different reactions in people. The paper wasp is very peaceful and rarely stings, even if you approach its nest. You can recognize it by its orange wings and legs.

I personally don’t perceive other wasps as aggressive either, as long as one respects their natural behavior and boundaries. I forgive and accept that they are not always capable of such foresight themselves.

However, many people react aggressively or fearfully at the sight of a wasp. These strong emotions limit compassion and make it easier to cause these animals harm.

But even if we try to cultivate compassion, true intentions and contexts can easily be misunderstood.

This wasp is visibly moving toward me. It does not want to attack me. Nor is it seeking contact with me as a person. It simply wants my body heat because, in its own perception, it is freezing and still fighting for survival in its final hour.

Yet I leave it to nature, because I understand that its desire, without its knowledge, would only prolong its own suffering.

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Seemingly endless..
along the Grote Nete river.

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The heath in Kessel, Belgium is characterized by heather, swamps, drifting sand and ponds. Heath landscapes are a beautiful example of the interplay of culture and biodiversity. 6000 years ago 80 percent of Europe was still covered by forests. Heath areas naturally occurred only in very rare cases on coasts, in moorland areas and in the mountains. Then people started to use the forests for themselves. They required grazing land and thus not only changed the landscape, but also created new habitats for many different species. The extensive use of deforested and cleared areas resulted in increasingly nutrient-poor soils and grazing animals were bred that are particularly suitable for these areas. The upper layer of soil was regularly removed, mixed with animal manure and burned or applied to fields as fertilizer. The rain washed out the last nutrients and specially adapted plant species settled there, followed by rare animals.

These unique ecosystems survive only through active human intervention, which has been achieved through centuries of heath farming. However, this type of farming has become uneconomical, and a large part of the land has been converted into arable land by applying fertiliser. Other areas became forest again because keeping animals on nutrient-poor areas is associated with lower yields. With the loss of the heathland, numerous animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. And all the beauty that has always inspired painters and poets could simply disappear. It could hardly have been the biodiversity alone that led to active conservation efforts, but rather the cultural connection to this romanticized landscape form. We keep what we find beautiful and we can only find beautiful what we can see.

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Kleine Klotteraard and Grote Klotteraard seen from the Bels Lijntje observation tower.

The Campine is a natural region in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands. It mainly consists of extensive moors, wetlands and tracts of sandy heath.

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We walk at least 10,000 steps every day. 😊❤️🙃

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Lovely nature walks ❄️💚🌞

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Capturing beauty 😊❤️🙃

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A wonderful sunny autumn getaway. 🍂🌲🌞 The sandy ground around Averbode is ideal for the pine forest. If you hike here, you cross a very varied landscape with dunes, heaths and moors.💚

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Beautiful wandering with a picturesque landscape in Averbode 😊🙃

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