I am not a fan of hornets. In fact, I go out of my way to avoid them, no matter what! What a powerful punch one sting can hold! Ouch! But even though there is no love lost between hornets and me, that doesn't keep me from admiring their work.

 

Here is a superb example of what these little stingers can do with a little paper and glue. Not that they had these simple tools to start with -- they had to create them first, before they could create what they were made to create.

 

 

When I look at this, I see whorls and swirls, overlapping gracefully, and shades of gray, moving delicately and subtly from light to dark. I don't think their home had to be this pretty to give the insects protection and a place to reproduce. But it is pretty. Beautiful, actually.

 

 

It all started with that skinny little twig that is at the center, and then layer upon layer is added, to create a whole that is strong enough to endure through thundering storms of rain and wind. Think how large this home must seem to the tiny creatures that built it. A huge apartment house of sorts, filled with places for hundreds of their kind.

 

I never fail to be amazed at the gifts of nature we find, if we just look. In this case, someone looked up to find it. It's just a hornet's nest -- but it's truly a natural work of art.