BUTTERFLIES
Winged Sprites…
They come flitting into the yard alone, or in pairs – sometimes in threes; fluorescent green and yellow; they’re gone before I can capture them on camera. Others will linger in the butterfly garden. Some look like they just stepped into life – fresh and blindingly colorful. Others, like the tattered Monarch below, need to rest after their long journey.
I look at butterflies as those wonderful sprites that I would have wanted to imagine if they didn’t exist. I spend hours in my yard or elsewhere dripping sweat - all for the sake of capturing an image of those glorious beings. I don’t think I’ll ever be an expert on butterflies because there are too many other entities out there - on the beach, in the waters, in the garden, in the sky, - that demand my attention. I could never hope to encompass the fragility and strength of these mind-blowing winged sprites. Summers in Southwest Florida can be brutally hot and humid but I’ll keep on running all over my yard drenched in sweat trailing my dancing darlins’.
On a More Somber Note…
While driving through the Mississippi Gulf Coast on our way home from New Orleans a year after hurricane Katrina had roared in, my husband and I were dismayed by the dismal mounds of debris. Whereas New Orleans still had tarps in the 9th ward, it seemed that hope was present and progress was being made. Here, the coast which had been a stunning and beautiful stretch of miles was now reduced to tatters. I felt compelled to get out of the car and walk through this ghostland. From a distance, all that seemed left in this spot was the City Hall flag pole and plaque. Coming closer, I could see the land that had been swept away was now restored with wildflowers and dancing butterflies. It was a tender revelation of our vulnerability and the wonder of renewal. Like the butterfly, I want to dance through life. Click here for a butterfly gallery