#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream
Monarch on the cone flower
“Art is not just for oneself, not just a marker of one’s own understanding. It is also a map for those who follow after us.
― Clarissa Pinkola Estés
A wet walk; once again the brook runneth over, and I wade through the fresh running water with pleasure. This isn’t like the rainfall overflow earlier this summer when there was some kind of spill from somewhere on the river that killed of all kinds of fish, sadly. The river seems fine, but running very high. Today, I got to see my aunt. While I was walking, I was thinking about how she has not been outdoors, probably in a good amount of time. And so, I wanted to bring some outdoors to her: I picked an herb bouquet from the plants on my property: rosemary, sage, lemon balm, basil, spearmint, purple sage, lavender and chives. Delicious. I met my other aunt and uncle, my father’s brother and his wife, in the parking lot of the memory care where my aunt lives and helped them find the building. My aunt did not really wake up, but I know it was so important for her brother to see her. And I was glad as well for myself. Then, Frank was willing to go plant shopping with me. I told him that getting new plants motivates me for the weeding. I found some lovely cardinal flower in bloom, and picked one up to buy it. Then, looking at another one, I saw a gorgeous monarch butterfly sitting on the leaf without moving. So, I said, I’ll buy this one instead—and take the butterfly home too! The butterfly stayed on the plant while I paid for it, and all the way to the car. Frank had the top down, and I didn’t want to lose this beauty to the wind, so we placed it carefully in an empty coffee cup and drove home. Then, I carried the monarch to my butterfly garden and placed it gently on a leaf of my cone flower. In the late afternoon, I went to visit the butterfly, to see if it was still there. And there she was, flashing her wings at me, happily in her new home.
Adult monarchs live for anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks. . .They die when they get “old,” just like people do.
Monarch on the cardinal flower, Home Depot