Hmmm, do you weigh the evidence before you form your opinion?
The steamy, sweltering days of summer have arrived on schedule despite the extraordinary times in which we are living. Glory days for butterflies whose weather preference can be summed up as the hotter the better.
There is nothing I enjoy more than hiking through wildflower emblazoned meadows and sunny woodland glades in search of my winged wonders. However, as much as I take pleasure in the pastime for its pure pleasures, I also often find life lessons in the bargain.
For nature geeks such as me, Hairstreaks are one of the most exciting finds for several reasons: they are by and large uncommon, their nickel-sized makes them easy to overlook, their lookalike appearance makes them a challenge to identify.
The Hairstreak at the top of this post is a Banded Hairstreak. The one directly above is a Striped Hairstreak. Can you see the difference? It takes a close and deliberate examination to do so. They happen to be feeding on the same wildflower which makes it all that much easier to mistake one for the other.
The life lesson: There is very often a subtle line between fact and fiction. Those with vested interests in a particular point of view will blur that line quite intentionally to promote their agenda. And once they get us on their road, they will use all the tools at their disposal to keep us there.
Lookalike Hairstreaks – a metaphor for the necessity to make up our own minds, based on a thoughtful and independent examination of the facts, rather than being hoodwinked by those who massage the truth for their own purposes.
~ Now Available Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet
~ Michael Robert Dyet is also 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 .
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Tags: Banded Hairstreak · butterfly · COVID-19 · fact and fiction · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Striped HairstreakNo Comments