Hmmm, how unfortunate that we often overlook the graces of Mother Nature’s more subtle works of art as we marvel at her more exuberant brushstrokes.
Another summer has come and gone. I cannot fathom how it passed so quickly. I was determined to squeeze every last drop out of it, but blinked at the wrong time and it got away from me. In this cool and rainy first week of October, it seems the right time for one of my summer retrospectives of winged wonders that fluttered across my path.
Why not look at some common species that paused in just the right spot for a photo opp.
Clouded Sulphurs appear in early summer and endure well into the fall. This one had the fashion sense to perch on a patch of parched ground to show off its lemon yellow attire and faintly checkered, pink wing edges to best effect. It was quite by chance that it was framed so artistically by woody green stems of weeds and withering grasses.
Northern Pearly-Eyes do not have much of a claim to fame in terms of colour. But their muted brown attire, with chocolate spot band and scalloped wing edges, has a nondescript charm about it. This one seems almost to be hovering for effect on the waxy green leaves it chose to rest upon after darting about in the shaded areas.
Silver-spotted Skippers are quite common but always catch my eye. In this view, you cannot see the whitish silver blotch on the outer wing that gives it its name. But the angular, dirty orange markings on the inner wing are a handsome field mark. Once again, this specimen shows off its best mid-summer outfit to maximum effect against a backdrop of verdant green.
Butterflies will ever be my living metaphor of choice for the glories of summer – delicate, forever free and light as the air they float upon. These three Plain Janes of the butterfly world remind me that beauty need not be outspoken to be enjoyed.
Lesson learned: Common does not necessarily mean unworthy of notice.
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~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
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Tags: butterfly · Clouded Sulphur · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Mother Nature · Northern Pearly-Eye · plain jane · Silver-spotted SkipperNo Comments