When a lightning strike ignited a blaze which destroyed my parents' storage building, we gathered at daylight to inspect the damage. It was a hot, muggy and altogether dreary morning as we rummaged through thousands of smoldering memories for anything tangible that might be salvaged. Shortly after Cousin Layne arrived, she encountered this beauty among the ashes.
As if to offer some small degree of solace for our sorrow, it did not shy from her approach; instead eagerly mounting her proffered finger and accompanying her as she collected scattered coins from a glass bank shattered by the intense heat of the flames.
When Layne's task required two hands, the lovely sprite graciously switched companions and joined Julie in her labors.
Assuming the delicate creature would prefer a place in the blossoms to the soot-blackened footprint of the old shed, Julie gently placed her in a pot of purple petunias.
Perhaps she found much-needed minerals in the soot and sweat which coated their hands, or perhaps there was some other logical explanation for her behavior; in any event, her brief but beautiful presence provided a real and pleasant distraction from the destruction of the night just past.
Limenitis arthemis astyanax, or Red Spotted Purple
I am so sorry about the fire.
ReplyDeleteI know how this feels.
And, yes, that butterfly is looking for food among the ashes.
You are lucky, we were covered up with flies and wasps.
I love a good butterfly.
Oh, my. There is the unfortunate loss of the storage building and all it contained, and there's also the relief that it was just the storage building. And still through pen and lens you weave well the storied moments worth catching and savoring.
ReplyDelete