Peripatetic philomaths…focusing on what's really important, eating ethically and cleanly, fermenting, foraging/wildcrafting, practicing herbalism, and being responsible stewards of our land. Sharing our photos, musings, and learnings. Still seeking our tribe.
This morning, I was greeted by the lacy work of an industrious (and tiny) orbweaver spider on a hoop tractor; for scale, the opening in the wire where the web was draped is 2″ by 4″. I marveled at the meticulousness and determination of the spider, an everyday artist. May you behold Nature’s wonder today, too.
I saw a butterfly flutter by
A flash of color that caught my eye
Then, one morning, I also found
A butterfly upon the ground.
Its velvet wings heavy with dew,
I knew its journey was nearly through
But I was determined to at least try
To find a place where its wings could dry.
I placed it gently upon some wood
And like to think it understood
This was a place it could rest
And then, if it wished, continue its quest.
So I left it and continued on
With the chores to be done at dawn
And, later, when doing a round,
Found the butterfly, once again, upon the ground.
This time, though, I could tell
It would never move from where it fell –
Its wings, once outstretched and proud,
Were folded into a funeral shroud.
“Live fast, die young…”?
Will you return when Spring has sprung?
May there be plentiful Queen Anne’s Lace
Wherever you are, some other place.
I’ll look for you when flowers bloom,
Following the scent of heady perfume,
Beautiful Black Swallowtail, free of care,
Your spirit, unbound…and everywhere.
Learn more about the Eastern Black Swallowtail here.
It’s been very dry here – so dry, the grass is beginning to look like hay, wan and crispy. Clouds gathered this afternoon, angry and threatening, displaying the glowering undersides that portend storms. Unfortunately, we’ve had near misses with storms recently, so I refused to get my hopes up. And then, it came.
I’ve been trying for some time now to photograph the Monarchs that flit about the pastures. They always seem to foil my hasty photographic attempts by flying off as soon as I almost have the shot lined up on my phone – and they won’t let me get very close, adding challenge to an already difficult endeavor. Today, though, this one let me get close enough for this photo. Maybe it was under the spell of the red clover nectar it was sampling…but regardless of the reason, I seized the opportunity, gladly. It’s butterfly season here: all sizes, shapes, and colors mingle in the pastures. And each one is welcome.
I was walking by the patio at the back of our house and a stray stone (and something else) caught my eye. When I looked more closely, it became clear that a frog was looking back at me. It was the essence of stillness, as motionless as that rock. The frog didn’t move as I took photos, and was still in the same spot when I left.
The daylilies, so bountiful this year, have been gone for a couple of weeks now – which is why I was so surprised to find these hidden gems. I was actually checking on the progress of ripening elderberries in the towering bush that covers much of the pile when the flash of color caught my eye. Few flowers are orange out here, so I moved some debris and found these. How they survived and bloomed with branches and clippings covering them is a puzzle, but they did…and now, beauty lives in the brush pile, too.
