Butterflies have arrived in force in our garden.
I’d read about how the bee population has been dwindling. Pollinators, in general, are under stress from the loss of habitat.
So, when I was choosing plants for the garden, I chose native plants when possible. I looked for the tag that said, “Bee Friendly.”
As a result, the garden has grown into a pollinator garden. Most of the plantings are designed to benefit bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. It wasn’t intentional at first. It just sort of turned out that way.
The bees have been here all summer. The Crepe Myrtle’s white blossoms virtually hums with them.
At least one hummingbird has finally found the trumpet vines, but it still hasn’t figured out the feeders we have out.
And the butterflies are everywhere! Fluttering like startled door hinges flying through the air.
The butterflies love the butterfly bush and the two kinds of butterfly weed I planted.
This week, I ordered the Field Guide to Butterflies from the Audubon Society. I’ve been busy trying to match our visitors to their pictures. It’s been a bit like going through mug shots trying to identify the “perp,” and I’m not very good at it yet, but I’m working on it.
So far, I’ve identified Cabbage Whites, Folded Wing Skippers (they all look sort of brown and I can’t tell apart yet), White Hairstreaks (a best guess at this point), Eastern Black Swallowtails, Tiger Swallowtails, and of course, Monarchs. They’re like huge orange celebrities. Like their photo just came to life and they appeared right out of the field guide.
The other day, I even found a monarch caterpillar crawling up a stem in the butterfly weed and I felt more satisfaction than someone who simply dug a hole in the ground should feel. But there it was. I had a hand in helping out the next generation. I could have passed out cigars for the pride I felt.
The thing is though, before this I had no idea there were so many different types of butterflies. There are hundreds and hundreds of them. Just in North America.
I used to say, “Look, a butterfly!” And that was as far as it went. Not anymore.
I’m almost embarrassed at how oblivious I was. At my poverty of spirit and imagination. Summing up the magnificence of this part of God’s creation with a single paltry word.
‘Butterfly.’
Once your eyes have been opened, your world can’t go back to what it was. And the thing to remember is that the world doesn’t change. We do.
The world patiently waits with its wonders for our eyes to grow sharp enough to see them.
And to think we spend so much of our lives trying to eliminate the superfluous. Cut to the chase. Get to the bottom line. While God celebrates richness and diversity.
God delights in the superfluous. God doesn’t just create ‘butterfly,’ God makes hundreds and hundreds of them. Each unique. Try to fit that on the bottom line.
And what a joy it is, to discover ourselves in the midst of this wonderful creation. With a part to play in its unfolding. That has been a lifesaver in this pandemic for me. An anchor that grounds me in the beauty of God’s creation.
All around us, God holds up a more realistic mirror than the funhouse distortions of politics and the culture wars that go with it.
Compassion for those who are suffering just comes naturally. Befriending those who are struggling to hang on is an immediate reflex, not a question to debate or an issue to decide.
When you see yourself in the mirror of God’s creation, your heart opens.
Not wanting to cause harm is the natural state of being.
When you see yourself in the mirror of God’s creation, you see yourself clearly. And a lot of stuff falls into place.
We live in a world of delights God declared “very good.” All that’s left to say is, “thank you.”
Charles Oberkehr 