A crackling fire, the scent of wood smoke in the air
Frosted grass crunching under the weight of each step
Longer nights – shorter days – neutral shades
Memories of flying rainbows brighten the darker recesses of my mind
As Winter Approaches…
Category: Butterfly
An Unusual Year
By the end of July my photographic library usually has a myriad of colorful photos of the butterflies that grace the gardens. This year they are few and far between. Perhaps it was the many March snowstorms or the early heat followed by a cold snap. Maybe it is the lack of some larval foods as seven oaks fell during a wind storm.
But last week a few began to appeared. It led me on a quest to locate their caterpillars. A of today I am raising six monarch and six black swallowtail caterpillars. I hope to help increase the population!
Kaleidoscope
From the moment they emerge and unfurl their wings their symmetry is unmatched
Whether muted or vibrant colors the intricacy of design is mesmerizing
I am always drawn to these gentle creatures
The following photos are of those who settled just long enough for me to capture the memory
MOTHS
BUTTERFLIES
I wonder who 2018 will bring to this space?
If anyone knows either of the two unknown moths please help me!
Long Time Gone
The last time I shared the life of the gardens nighttime temperatures were below freezing and there was snow on the ground.
Now windows are opened both day and night while the cacophony of bird songs overwhelm one’s sense of hearing.
Babies are born, flowers grow and vegetables harvested.
The gardens are another year older as are its inhabitants …
Transformative Qualities
And so it begins
A miniscule sphere harboring new life
Emerging as a creature from a nightmare
Growing into a character in a children’s dream
Ever so slowly shedding greens and yellows encasing its soft body in an armor of crusty brown
To one day emerge into a creature which we embrace as a symbol of what we can attain
It does not happen in a blink of an eye, it does not happen over night
Days, weeks months in a life that exists for but a short period of time
Once its insatiable appetite for parsley, dill or carrot greens has been quelled it will travel long distances to find a place to rest as it transforms into a creature no longer shackled to the earth
We too have the capacity to transform but only after many years of feeding our own voracious appetite for that which we are drawn to
Look to the sky to see them glide on an invisible current and know we too can unshackle ourselves from that which keeps us from soaring ever higher
The Iris and the Lily 