The Dragon's Cache: Butterflies

Showing posts with label Butterflies. Show all posts

Sunday, June 16, 2013

The Butterflies of Texas

Among the items we picked up that day at the grocery store was a container of ice cream. It was hot outside, and even though it was in an insulated bag, I had second thoughts about getting out to photograph a few cows in a field. But the road was quiet, so my wife left the motor running, and I hurried out to snap a couple quick photographs of the cows.

As I turned back to the car, I noticed a butterfly fluttering by my legs. He alighted on a flower, flapping his wings and crawling around on the petals as he sucked the flower nectar. Despite thoughts of softening ice cream, I took a quick photo, then bent down to take another.

The flower really must have been giving off some prime nectar, for he didn't seem to mind my presence as I bent progressively lower, taking shots closer-up, and orientating the camera as he moved around. He kept flapping his wings, so I had to guess at my timing, and snap quickly when I guessed his wings would be at their widest. This was my best close-up.

That evening, I really enjoyed my ice cream. Despite the afternoon heat, it wasn't soft at all. So I suppose you could say I had my treat and ate it too, even if the treat wasn't cake, but ice cream on a hot day, and photographs of cows and butterflies that I'll enjoy long after I forget the flavor of the ice cream.

Now that I've mentioned it, I think I need to have a talk with my wife. It's been a while since she's made us a really nice cake.

Dragon Dave

P.S. As best I can tell, this particular type of butterfly is called a Border Patch, or a Chlosyne Lacinia. Personally, I prefer the first name, but then Latin was never my best language.

Related Dragon Cache entries (other photographs of butterflies)
The Significance of Butterflies Part 1
The Significance of Butterflies Part 2

Related Internet Links (facts and photos of this butterfly's lifecycle)
Butterflies and Moths of North America

Monday, April 16, 2012

The Significance of Butterflies Part 2

I still can’t get over why, year after year, the butterflies at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s “Butterfly Jungle” seem to alight on me, but not on my wife. Science offers up possible explanations, such as my unique scent or the color of my clothes, but nothing definitive. Meanwhile, from other aspects of human speculation come other intriguing possibilities.

One person’s answer in particular struck me. “Our thoughts and emotions are powerful sources of energy that many people take for granted but are easily distinguished by those entities who live in the realm of the spirit.” We’ve all heard about spiritual auras. I’ve even had one woman (ironically at a Bible study), tell me that she could perceive mine. Whereas she could usually read auras clearly, she said she didn’t know what to make of mine. Given that I’ve lived for so long in transition, struggling to transform myself into the kind of author I wish to become, I find her words coming back to me afresh.

While I’d like to believe that tomorrow I’ll be mailing off completed manuscripts, and shortly after that receive a publication contract, that’s clearly viewing the process of metamorphosis too simply. For I am not a butterfly: a human doesn’t live most of his life as a caterpillar, then suddenly sprout beautiful wings through desire alone. But I am striving to become a proficient author who can regularly entertain and add meaning to others’ lives. Perhaps the Butterflies recognize this, and are telling me, in their unique, nonverbal way, “Keep on striving!”

I grew up loving Science Fiction. While I love all types of Fiction, particularly Fantasy, a part of me always asks, “What can you prove?” Yet for most of humanity’s existence, people would have regarded the “unscientific” views about the spiritual significance of Butterflies as perfectly valid. In the twentieth century, Lord Carnarvon’s interest in science, as well as the occult, led him to finance Howard Carter’s excavations, which eventually resulted in the discovery of King Tut’s tomb. Arthur Conan Doyle, who pioneered the modern science of forensics through his Sherlock Holmes stories, later embraced all manner of spiritual beliefs. Spiritualism versus Provable Facts: the two seem linked, as if one somehow drives the other.

Even if I don’t know exactly why the Butterflies find me so fascinating, I’m glad they do. Who knows? Perhaps my thoughts, emotions, and drive really do radiate some spiritual power that science will never be able to measure. As long as it propels me on toward achieving my goal, the suggestion seems as relevant to me as any scientific explanation.

Related Dragon Cache entries

Does Truth Matter?

Defined By Fear

Forever in Flux?

Friday, April 13, 2012

The Significance of Butterflies Part 1

A Blue Morpho checks out my hat

Every year, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park brings in a selection of butterflies. And every year we trek up there, wait in line, then stand around taking pictures of these beautiful creatures for half-an-hour or more. Why? I’ll admit, I was reluctant to go this time, as the assorted species seem to vary little each year. But my wife was looking forward to it, so this Easter weekend we packed up our cameras and headed off to the Park.

Divergent beliefs surround Butterflies. Some people see them as the Fae manifesting in our world. Some view them as symbols of the soul. I find them fascinating for two reasons: 1) Because they undergo such dramatic transformation in their brief lives, and 2) Because they always seem to land on me.

Another friend hitches a ride

That’s not to say that this occurs in the real world. But inside the enclosure at the Park, the creatures alight on me nearly every year. Sometimes one will perch on my shoulder or back for the entire time I’m in the enclosure, and I’ll need an attendant to brush it off before I leave. This time, at least three of them touched down to investigate what this dude with a camera was up to.

Science might say that they land on me because of my pheromones, or the colors I wear. Others believe that I am nearing or entering a period of profound change, or than I’m in harmony with nature. Some even venture that these delicate creatures appreciate my ability to bounce back from disappointments, or that the butterflies are really the souls of the departed coming back to protect me.

And then there was the suggestion that I simply consume too much butter. Hmm.

Time to catch a few rays?

Frankly, I’m not sure what to make of any of the above reasons. As my wife and I have lived together, eaten together, and done practically everything together for the past two decades, it’s hard to imagine my pheromones are dramatically different from hers. While we don’t wear matching clothes, we usually dress to complement each other. Aside from writing this blog, there’s nothing I can point to that represents significant change in my life. My gardening is usually limited to hedge trimming, and helping my wife plan (and create) new planting beds; it is she who actually works with the plants. I shelved my over-long space opera after a big-time literary agent declared it unoriginal. Since then, I haven’t invested as much energy as I should have in submitting my mainstream novel, and have abandoned several novels without finishing them. I think it’s safe to say that I’m less resilient than I’d like to be. How about the notion of butterflies being the souls of departed relatives coming back to visit me? Well, I guess I’d prefer to believe that their souls are in a better place (and have better things to do than flit about a Park enclosure for a month). Still, the latter’s a comforting notion to a loner who’s seen so many of his loved ones die during his (not-so-short) lifetime.

Then again, since my trip last year to England, I’ve discovered that I enjoy eating bread far more than I used to. Perhaps I should reexamine my butter intake.