We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.
Carl Sagan
Chasing Butterflies
Butterflies flitting nervously
over the sandy ground -
landing flying, landing flying
my heart can’t rest
as my eyes follow
the erratic movements
of their bodies
landing flying, landing flying
here on a stone,
there a stretch of sand-
then it’s another butterfly
that they can land by,
but that one won’t stay
and neither can I
when I can only catch up
in time to see them fly-
my heart can’t rest.
So we'll live, And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh at gilded butterflies.
William Shakespeare
The pictures were taken on Lake Michigan earlier this month on a warm sunny day. The butterflies are Tiger Swallowtails. Such beautiful creatures. They are in the same family of butterflies as the Monarch. They are called swallowtails because their forked tails resemble the tails of swallows (the birds). I wondered why I saw them on the beach instead of near a field or flowers. One explanation I saw was that male swallowtails do something called “puddling” - it’s one of the only times they gather in groups; they do it to sip water and obtain some necessary minerals.
I love butterflies, but I noticed when I was chasing after them to take pictures, I felt anxious. They usually move so quickly, barely resting on a spot before lifting off again. Just as you get them into the frame, they’re out of it. It reminded me of how my mind races sometimes when I have a lot of things to do. It races so much at times that I actually can’t do anything. I just run around starting things. Maybe the next time I feel that way, I will remember the butterflies and I will decide to land on just one task.
Thank you so much for being here! See you next week!
