So, here we are,

tiny blobs of matter on a big blue marble.  Add to that the marble is in constant motion, spinning, spinning, spinning, and that it is part of a gigantic universe, we become even smaller.

The doctor tells me I'm now barely five feet tall, and getting smaller.  Can the universe even see me any more?  What about even smaller things, does the universe even care?

As you know by now, I contemplate these things.  I'm an ace at contemplation. I will contemplate things until every cell in my grey matter hurts.  Take for instance, creeping things.  The other day I saw a tiny creeping thing on one of the leaves of my hops vine.  I knew I'd seen this kind of creature before because some of my 'cells' started to scream.

Cells:  "Oooooo, uuummm, I know what that is, I know what that is...it's a...it's a....".

And....those cells suddenly drew a blank.  Other cells began to slap the forgetful cells around.

I had to intervene.

Me:  "No worries cells, I'll simply look this up in my insect books, if we learned this once, we can learn this again.  We will get to the bottom of this."

Since I've begun to realize just how insignificant I am (in the big picture of things), I can't begin to imagine just how insignificant this little insect must feel.  How vulnerable.  One misplaced swipe of my garden hose and it is drown.  One bird on the wing, and it's brunch.  Before this tiny thing was gone forever, the least I could do was remember what it was and where I'd seen it before.

Here comes the good part.

This is a picture of the creature I saw the other day, much enlarged so you can see it well.  Bear in mind, this is only part of this insect's life cycle which is why when I first saw it a few years back on my Sweet Annie (Wormwood) shrub I didn't know what it was.  Trust me, it took quite some time for me to figure this out, because, I thought this was 'the' creature.

Boy, I can be such a dummy sometimes.  However, never being one to 'letitgo', I began pouring over all my books relating to nature, bound and  determined I would eventually come across some information regarding this six legged phenomenon.

I held no ill will against this creature. It never seemed to cause my Wormwood any harm, like chewing the leaves to bits. It simply crawled about, but mostly seemed to like resting in the sun...we lived in  harmony.  Then, one day, on the same plant I saw several of these.

"Hmmmm," says I.  "Could there possibly be a
connection?"
 
I become pretty darn excited, and can't wait to get back to my books.  Could it be I was missing a evolutionary step?  Were these creatures somehow related?

DUH!

Turns out, the first picture, is actually the larvae stage of the second.  Well, I'll be a son of a gun, a monkey's uncle, the crispy bacon on a BLT.

So, the other day, when my brain cells went comatose, I knew I was going to have to get recall or die trying.  I remember walking to the house mumbling "What is that?  I know I know what that is."

Days pass, every once in a while I thought about that tiny creature on my hop's
leaf, I keep drawing a blank.  Surely it is not important that I remember.  Does anybody really care?  Well, yes, somebody does.  I do.  That tiny creature does. 
I think the universe does, too.

This morning, those errant grey matter cells clicked in.  "I remember, I remember", they yelled in unison. "It's a Ladybug!"

And so it was, I had that ah-ha moment.  It matters not the size of things...me, you, elephants, slugs....Ladybugs who lay the eggs that turn into larvae, that turn into Ladybugs.  What does matter is that year after year miracles repeat as the big blue marble spins, part of a universe that thankfully accepts us all.

Thus ends your Earth Science Class for the day.

You're excused.