HELP ME - CENTRAL

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Butterflies, they are like dream flowers, childhood dreams, which have broken loose from their stalks and escaped into the sunshine. Air and angels. ~  Miriam Rothschild

     Today is the last day of summer. Weeks of sun and heat have been replaced by endless days of gloomy rain and cooler nights. The last visitors to our butterfly bush have made their appearance.  During the summer the butterflies and moths visiting the bush changed as the season progressed. First to visit were the small cabbage whites and the eastern tailed blues, who were soon replaced by the least skippers and red spotted purples.  In midsummer the bush was covered with ever changing vistas of larger butterflies in hues of black, blue, and yellow - a variety of swallowtails and red admirals. Last week both my son and I noticed the monarch butterflies had returned. I can’t say which butterflies are my favorite, but a butterfly bush with ten to fifteen monarchs fluttering from branch to branch is wonderous to behold.

     Since one of my goals in gardening is to attract butterflies to my yard, I always plant flowers and herbs that butterflies enjoy as well as those upon which caterpillars feed.  I have fennel, parsley and dill in my herb garden, marigolds, goldenrod, and coneflowers in the berm, and milkweed planted next to the pond near the butterfly bush.  One day when I went out to feed the fish I noticed one of the milkweed plants was bent towards the pond and the fish were nibbling at the leaves...In fact most of the leaves were gone. I ran into the house, did a quick search online, and discovered that milkweed is poisonous to some animals. In a panic I rushed outside and pulled out all of the plants that were in close proximity to the pond. Many times during the day I went outside in fear of finding my family of fish floating on their sides, but the fish seemed to be unaware of the poisonous nature of the milkweed plant and none ever showed any sign of being ill.

  Having weathered that storm, my family and I waited patiently to see if the remaining milkweed plants would attract monarch caterpillars. In September we noticed the milkweed leaves were being devoured. A close inspection disclosed several yellow, black, and white striped caterpillars. After two weeks we discovered two cacoons hanging from the denuded milkweed plant. The monarch's chrysalis is unusual in being a beautiful, smooth object, green with golden spots. There are four generations of monarchs. The total life cycle of one generation from egg to butterfly is six to eight weeks. However, the fourth generation monarchs are the ones who make the long journey south, and they live six to eight months.  

     Every day we would go out early in the morning with great expectations, hoping to see a newly emerged butterfly sitting on a rock while its wings unfolded. That was not to be. One morning we found both chrysalis were empty and the butterflies gone.  These small  miracles had fluttered off on fragile wings with no one to witness their departure.

To make a wish come true,

whisper it to a Butterfly.

Upon these wings it will be taken to

heaven and granted, for they are the

messengers of the Great Spirit.

Native American Legend

     When I joined the Bone Cancer Dog Yahoo group, several people posted about finding pennies. I couldn't understand why they were bothering to post about such a minor occurrence. After reading the posts I realized that people were writing about seeing or finding something that to them symbolized a message or reminder of their lost loved one. For some people, the symbol was a penny or something that had a special meaning. For me, it has been butterflies. Nine years ago both of my sons lost friends - two in a horrific auto accident and the third due to cancer - within a period of three months. On one of those days when the loss of these three young people seemed unbearable, I said to myself, "When I go outside, if I see a butterfly I will know all is not lost.” And when I stepped out my front door, three butterflies were resting together on the front walkway. What took my breath away was the fact that they were three different kinds of butterflies.

What the caterpillar perceives is the end, to the butterfly is just the beginning.   ~Anonymous

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