Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Saturday, November 24, 2012

A Late Emergence~



~Nature...oh so beautiful and always the unexpected, even in the beauty and timing~

I am linking up with Mary for:

"Mosaic Monday"


at:
http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com


On October 15, I had taken my 89 year old father-in-law home after an outing. 
Monday mornings are our time. 
As I was getting him safely into his back door, I happened to notice something hanging from the aluminum siding of his home. 
That part of the house hardly ever gets any sunlight and with below normal temperatures...what I was thinking that it was, would never survive.
As I was leaving, I felt of the very cold
chrysalis hanging there. 


A fruitless effort, I imagined, but why not. 
I gently removed the sac from the house and placed it into the warmth of my hand.  I held it there, all the way to my twin sister's home, where I would then take care of her needs for the next couple of hours, as she is also home bound. 
The sun was shinning beautifully and so I thought...maybe I shall just place the
chrysalis into a shallow dish, upon the dashboard and see what happens...
When I left my sisters and got into the car, the chrysalis was in the dish...
empty;')
A beautiful Monarch Butterfly had emerged and was on my front seat, just basking in the sun.
I was amazed, awestruck, surprised and also concerned, for the weather here had really turned cold early and this Monarch was going to have a disadvantage, for the flowers were all just about spent.
I drove the nearly 30 miles home and then spent the next 3 hours observing and photographing this beauty.
It would climb upon my finger, if I placed it near.  I then would allow it to crawl onto a variety of Sedum and a few stray vibrant Cone Flowers, everything else in the gardens were pretty well shriveled and spent for the season.  Every time, it would crawl upon my finger, I could tell how cold it was to touch.
After 2 hours had passed, I  saw another butterfly warming itself on our fence, and so I finally gave this beauty the same chance and it warmed itself there and would crawl closer to the top of the rail every few minutes.
Finally after 3 hours, it flew up and without warning, whoosh it was gone.  It flew up into one of our Dogwood trees.
My heart was filled with joy, and wonder...and then...that fast a male Cardinal flew up, and grabbed it...gone, just like that...my heart was full of such emotion, words still cannot describe,...
Thankful that I could help give it life as a butterfly, even for 3 hours and I had desired all along to see it fly, and it did...
Life in nature, you just have to accept it...beauty and all~
Happy weekend~

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Can you see it...there it goes, brief life, brief flight...handled with care...we should all take in that lesson~
 

25 comments:

  1. Marvelous pictures of this beautiful butterfly I've never seen in real life!

    Thanks for your sweet comment in my blog!And congratulations to your newest little granddaughter! Hope her mother is feeling better now.

    Have a nice weekend! Greetings Pia

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  2. How cool! Beautiful photos and it's nice to see that so late in the year!

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  3. it was beautiful. and served a purpose - both for you and for the cardinal.

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  4. What an amazing experience!!! Beautiful photos as well...

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  5. enjoyed both...
    the words and pictures...

    thanks...

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  6. your photos are spectacular as always Mary. you demonstrate with words and images the fragility of life, and its purpose. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your family. wishing you a magical week ahead.

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  7. Thease images are wonderful Mary... your butterfly is a real beauty.

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  8. What a wonderful experience! Your photos are gorgeous.

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  9. Absolutely exquisite photos and words to match - what a privilege you had!

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  10. You captured some amazing images. Thank you for sharing them and also the story of this butterfly.

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  11. Oh what an end...

    But the beginning and the middle were so good. I once had the privilege of watching a monarch dry its wings and gain sustenance and warmth and then move on. No cardinal in my story...that I saw anyway.

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  12. That really is amazing. You are always in tune with nature. Beautiful photos, my friend! Enjoy your week!

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  13. Life truly is fragile. Your photos of the monarch's short life are stunning. My heart sort of caught in my throat when I read the ending of his story.

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  14. Amazing pictures and what an unusual story of how you met your subject.

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  15. An amazing lady with an amazing talent and heart!

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  16. Such a lovely story! And your photos are just marvelous!

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  17. what a joy this day must have been for you. To see the butterfly take flight. Reward indeed for your care of your father-in-law and sister. And a reminder of how precious life is.
    Have a wonderful week.

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  18. WOW! That is an amazing story. Too bad the cardinal got it...but that is life.

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  19. Amazing story and photos Mary! Wow. I feel happy and sad too. I guess it's a life lesson. Life is short and to be lived as best we can. I'm glad God gave you that 3 hours to enjoy a beautiful butterfly and set it free. The cycle of life goes on..... Blessings, Pamela

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  20. What an awesome experience, Mary! Three short hours encompassing everything that life is all about! Miraculous survival against all odds, assistance arriving unlooked for, emergence from a chrysalis after all hope seemed to be gone, struggling to find subsistence to gain the strength to fly, then after a brief, but all the more impressive flight, losing the battle for survival, but providing sustenance for yet another soul struggling to survive. Inspiring!

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  21. I absolutely love this post, Mary! It makes me happy, what a great story, and so many awesome photos, too! I was at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens recently and there were so many monarchs - fun!

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  22. What an incredible experience and those photos are absolutely stunning. At least you gave him the chance to spread his wings.

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  23. I finally caught up with you Mary - very remiss of me to neglect your posts. If only I could find more days in the week. A lovely story and lovely photos of the Monarch, even allowing for the sad ending whereby nature can be so apparently cruel.

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  24. What an amazing story, Mary! It's as if that butterfly knew the very best place to spend her short life--in your care. Or, at least, Someone knew.

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