“Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can at it.” ~Danny Kaye
butterfly
A skipper on tall-growing sedums
When I was growing up, my Grandmother had one of these plants in her front garden. We used to pull off a leaf, press it with our fingers until the “skin” separated from the fleshly center, tear the stem end off the leaf, and gently blow into it. It was fun to watch the leaf puff up like a “frog belly”. This was a simple way to entertain yourself on a hot summer afternoon. 🙂
Tiger Swallowtail
“Divine creation can be seen painted on the canvas of a butterfly’s wing.” ~ K. D’Angelo
Zabulon Skipper on a butterfly bush
Checkered White butterfly on vervain
Mud-puddling
Mud-puddling is a behavior seen in butterflies and other insects by which they sip moisture and nutrients from wet soil or rotting plant material. Even though I know that puddling is part of its nature, there is still something a little disconcerting about seeing a beautiful, delicate butterfly sitting in the mud. I never can seem to shake that unsettling feeling that it ought to be up gently floating on a breeze or drinking nectar from an alluring flower.
“There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.” ~Carl Sandburg
Tattered wings
“Wisdom oft lurks beneath a tattered coat.” ~Caecilius Statius
Black locust and a silver-spotted skipper
” . . . but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute . . .
look at it and really see it . . . and never give it back.” ~Erma Bombeck
Black Swallowtail
“Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine.” ~Jeffrey Glassberg
Buckeye
“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly.” ~Richard Bach
walking on a country road 