Jewel # 395 (March 21, 2020)

And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when 

I make up MY JEWElS.

Malachi 3:17

To my dear grandchildren

The Seldom-Seen Desman

The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.  
Psalm 111:2

In remote mountain streams of Spain and France, there is a mysterious little animal whose body is not longer that a man’s hand, and its rope-like tail is the same length.  The desman lives a very secretive life and is rarely seen by anyone.  It is well hidden—not only living in places that are difficult to reach, but also because it sleeps during the day, hidden in a rocky nest beside a stream.  It spends the dark hours of night underwater in the fast-flowing stream.

This strange creature resembles a mole.  It has thick, yellowish-gray fur which, when wet, stands out in long, arrow-like pointers.  The skin, where exposed, is rough and looks like rows of small dark, round beads pressed lightly together.  Its long snout, brown on the end, has two large rubbery nostrils.  Each foot has leathery soles with five long, white claws.  The claws are used to pull itself along the creek bottom, as well as for loosening rocks under which it usually finds food. 

The desman has eyes but does not seem to use them for finding its way around or in hunting food.  Instead, it relies on a sensitive nose to smell out its underwater food of water bugs, worms and other insects and their larvae.  Its nose seems to be its greatest helper, not only in finding food, but since it is so sensitive, it warns of rocks and other obstacles in the dark waters.  This animal can stay underwater for a long time, occasionally poking that useful nose though the surface for a breath of air.

Its life pattern of hunting underwater at night includes the ability to hide on a dark rock when threatened.  When really frightened, it darts through the water so fast that it is almost impossible to get a good look at it even if a strong light is used.

The desman and its mate hunt for their food in only a small area of the mountain stream close to their daytime home.  They are most active in winter, eating as much as possible to keep warm.  Their bodies develop rather fat stomachs through the winter months.  It is not likely that any of us will ever see a desman, but there is One, the Creator of all living things, who is watching over each and every one of them.  He gave them these amazing instincts and the ability to live in such an unusual way.  A Bible verse tells us this: “The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over al His works.  All thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord” (Psalm 145:9-10).  

Do you thank and praise Him for His love and tender mercies to you?

Love you all - Grandpa