The Burning Bush and the Great Awakening

 Maybe I've been reading too much Mary Rowlandson and Cotton Mather, with a touch of Jonathan Edwards thrown in.  When I walked our aging Sheltie down the driveway yesterday morning, I was appreciating the fact that he can't walk fast any more because I was noticing more of nature's details.  My first impression upon seeing the trail we take up the hill into the dark forest was that of being startled by a small Dogwood that recently turned bright red.  I wondered if Moses had seen "fall colors" while under the influence of a flu virus or possibly some hallucinogenic plant.  I then saw a large bunch of Oak Treehoppers still clinging to a low-hanging branch of a California Black Oak.  It was quite cold outside, so they were entirely immobile, even when I gently poked them.  When it's warmer they always try to hide on the backside of the branch.  After walking the dog, I decided to return to the spot with a plastic container and bring a few treehoppers indoors for some close-up photography.

 They were still totally immobile when I got to the dining room table.  In fact, they seemed stuck together.  I wasn't able to tell if they had secreted some sort of adhesive or if they had just got all their little claws intertwined.  At any rate, they gradually started to wiggle, then eventually crawl.  Perhaps for the reason stated above, I thought of the Great Awakening.  Ironically, Thoreau, whom I'm also studying these days, around the time of the Second Great Awakening, said "I have never met a man who was quite awake." 

 Here's another view of the awakening.  When the legs stick out, they have begun to move a bit, but I don't have video capability so you'll have to imagine it.

 Here's one of the first to leave the group and try to find a way out of the container.  This graph paper has 1/4" squares, so this little guy, who fits right along a diagonal, is around 1/4" times the square root of 2 inches long, or about 0.353".

Then one of the adults (top edge) managed to crawl up the side of the container and lead the troops to places unknown.  Maybe he is the Avatar of a new sect.  I think it might be time for some lighter reading. 
I saw some impressive mushrooms on this same walk, but I'd better not take on that subject until I've had some rest.