Chasing Butterflies

   Most of the time, "chasing butterflies" refers to attempting to do a pointless task or just frittering away time.  Then, there are those who look at things logically and figure that the phrase pertains to the act of ridding caterpillars from the garden.  In my case, it is neither.  I chase butterflies as a form of therapy or perhaps I am just a wee bit distracted by the beauty found only in the fragility of the graceful insect.  Either way, I do chase butterflies.  Son says that I am just easily entertained and that my brain allows me to find tranquility in what others seem to overlook.  Maybe?

  Yesterday morning, a lovely swallowtail butterfly flitted from bloom to bloom in the garden. It was in no hurry and seemed a bit worn and tired.  I felt a certain connection with the bug as I sort of feel the same.  I am tired and tattered but still trying to function.  There is something about the summertime heat that wears thin...give me fall and winter and I am good.  The butterfly...not so much.  I am sure it prefers this weather over the winter drear.

  Yes, I do chase butterflies.  In fact, this photograph was taken through the branches of the grapefruit tree as the creature sat placidly in the morning sun on the beautyberry bush.  I was not about to disturb the butterfly's rest after it worked hard to get breakfast.  I knew just how it felt.

Be A Butterfly!

   I have a lot of time to ponder things since the social distancing thing has pretty much always been a thing with me.  I prefer to be alone so, generally, people accept that.  This does not mean I am antisocial.  It merely means that I am fine with solitude at any given time and for any length of time.  Like I said, it gives me time to ponder things.  More folks should try it.  Pondering is good for the brain!

  Today's ponderance was about butterflies.  As I watched a black swallowtail sip nectar from the zinnia blooms, I began to wonder how something so fragile can survive in the harshness of a world full of predators.  Here I was not but about a foot from the butterfly and yet it had no fear.   Had I wanted, I could have easily crushed the life from the insect.  Not that I would ever kill one but just the size difference alone would make me seem threatening.  The butterfly totally ignored my presence and kept flitting from flower to flower. 

  You know, sometimes I think we all fret far too much over things.  We see what others are doing and get ourselves in an uproar.  Perhaps if we were more like the butterfly and kept to our own business, others would just go about their merry way, too.  Hopefully, by sticking to the Bayou by myself, peace will continue to surround me.  It is delightful!

Early Morning Rescue!

  At daybreak, it is my habit to take the old dog out for his morning walk.  As we walk (slowly due to his age and health), I watch critters.  The pace of our hike gives me ample time to photograph anything that catches my eye.  This morning, however, it was the dog, himself, that found a critter.  Mr. PJ sort of caused a major accident for a beautiful, yet delicate, creature.  As he was lumbering through the gate, he inadvertently knocked a butterfly from its perch.  Obviously, the creature had just come from its cocoon and was trying to stretch out and dry its wings.  Mr. PJ did not even notice.  He did a slow motion version of "hit and run".  The butterfly struggled to right itself.  It could not make the long three foot journey back to the gatepost so I knew I had to help.  Left on the ground, ants would have soon killed the lovely insect.  I gently slid my hand near the butterfly.  It had reservations, at first, but with a tiny bit of nudging, it climbed aboard for the "air-lift" to a nearby plant.  The butterfly immediately settled in on the begonia and started flexing its wings and I followed along behind old Mr. PJ.

  It was several hours later before I remembered the butterfly.  I decided to check on my new found friend just to assure myself that the old dog did not do major harm.  Mr. PJ is the type dog that would never intentionally harm anything so no blame could be put on him.  Happily, I was just in time to see the butterfly take flight!  Oh, happy day!  It did the heart good to think that perhaps a helping hand was all it took to save a life.

  The butterfly in question is none other than a Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly.  This gorgeous creature is similar to another swallowtail, the Pipevine, but a few orange dots makes all the difference.  The Spicebush has two rows of dots, whereas, the Pipevine has a single row.  The mimicking coloration does a good job protecting the Spicebush!   The Pipevine is said to taste nasty to birds so they think twice about snatching the Spicebush thinking it may taste the same.  

Butterflies are free...or should be.

  Once again, I was stuck inside doing chores when my brain was saying to go out and breathe the fresh air!  At least I was able to throw open all of the windows and peer outside occasionally.  The sound of the birds singing and the sight of leaves blowing in the gentle breeze brought me some solace.  Through those windows, I did notice a ton of huge butterflies flitting about the garden.  It seems that the petunias, zinnias and butterfly weed interspersed with the tomatoes and bell peppers are a favorite stopping point for the insects.  Their brilliant colors added beauty to the garden.  Most were swallowtail butterflies of one sort or another. Their presence did make me feel a bit more trapped, though, as I could not be in the garden with them.  Their freedom to fly in and out made me want to do the same.

  Late this afternoon, I took Ms. Ez, the Bayou Dog, out for a walk.  She, too, has been feeling a bit of cabin-fever since I have taken on the job of reorganizing the craft room.  She has decided that she would rather be stuck inside with me than be outside by herself.  (She knows who throws that ball to her!)  Our hike took us through the garden and out the back gate.  I figured while I was traipsing about the tomato patch, I should check for any that were ripe.  A huge butterfly flitted right past my head and visited the butterfly weed.  It made me smile to think of how it was enjoying something that I had planted.  

  I was just about to leave the garden when a fluttering caught my attention.  Weeks ago, Michael and I put the netting across the tomato plants to keep the woodpeckers from eating any that were ripening.  I never thought of the danger this could be to any critter friends.  The net was touted to be "Environmentally and Animal Friendly!"  It is not. Caught up in the net was a gorgeous Swallowtail.  Poor thing!  It fluttered against the net for all it was worth but could not escape.  Well now, that would never do!  Even to the point of breaking a few of the plant's limbs, I pulled back the netting to allow the butterfly to escape.  Yep, butterflies should be free....and now this one is!  So folks, please take note if you use the bird netting.  Sometimes it can cause harm.  Go outside occasionally to check the netting.  Make sure that some hapless critter has not been caught up in the webbing.  Just last week, Michael rescued a gorgeous blue dragonfly and now the swallowtail had the misfortune of becoming snared.  Rescue those pretties, my friends!

The Giant Butterfly of Happiness!

I could not help but take a ton of pictures today of a single butterfly that was visiting the zinnia garden.  It seemed that this butterfly was happy with itself and all that was in its path.  It flitted from bloom to bloom without a care in the world and caused me to ponder things a good bit.  Why can't we be more like that butterfly?  Why are we so stressed about our lives instead of just seeing the beauty that lies before us?  It just does not make sense to me.  The so-called "rat race" to get ahead financially sort of kills any chance of really sitting back and enjoying life. Is that "financial security" what brings happiness?  Henry David Thoreau once wrote.."Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder."  Now that makes sense to me.

The butterfly that visited the zinnias was a Giant Swallowtail.  It is one that lays its eggs chiefly on my citrus trees.  The caterpillars resemble bird poop and are called Orange Dogs.  As much as I do not relish critters munching on my plants, I usually leave these be simply because I do so love the "Flying Flowers" in my gardens.  This Giant Swallowtail enjoying the zinnia garden gives me a good reason to plant more zinnias in the future!  I am quite sure we have enough citrus trees to house many Orange Dogs!

I watched the butterfly for a good while before "turning my attention to other things".  No, the butterfly did not come sit on my shoulder but neither did it leave the zinnia garden.  All day, the butterfly stayed.  Its staying brought me a lot of happiness which  I figure was the best thing ever!