Dogs. Dawgs. Other critters. Life as Oliver Wendell Douglas. Live heirlooms, both flora and fauna. Self-sufficiency. Suffering not a fool to live. Land stewardship. Turnip trucks, and those who have not fallen therefrom. Training things. Growing things. Search and rescue. What is this bug and what is it doing under my desk light?
Embracing the reality that Nature Bats Last.
It's a bumper year for butterflies here in the Midwest. We did a motorcycle fundraising ride a couple of weeks ago that took us down a country highway through hundreds of acres of rich, green fields that were absolutely COVERED with yellow butterflies. None of the hundreds of people on the ride could ever remember seeing so many. On a sunny, warm day, you can't look at that scenery and not give thanks for being alive and having an opportunity to participate in that moment.
I dunno know the species -- looks like several different ones.
Usually I pick up grasshoppers only on drives through cropland. Millions of grasshoppers in MT and SD. But more butterflies. I also count dragonflies, crickets and moths in the grill.
The live fluttery butterflies are good for the thanks to be alive thing. The deceased ones on the radiator bum me out, gorgeously.
I didn't bring my butterfly identification book with me on this trip. I'll take a look once I get home and settled, assuming somebody doesn't beat me to it.
They are apparently a selection of colias species. Or possibly all morphs of the clouded sulphur, Colias philodice.
One description states: "The growth of forage-crop production for livestock across North America has greatly expanded the range and numbers of this butterfly."
Since I concluded on this trip that 80% of the US GNP is hay in round bales, this would fit.
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It's a bumper year for butterflies here in the Midwest. We did a motorcycle fundraising ride a couple of weeks ago that took us down a country highway through hundreds of acres of rich, green fields that were absolutely COVERED with yellow butterflies. None of the hundreds of people on the ride could ever remember seeing so many. On a sunny, warm day, you can't look at that scenery and not give thanks for being alive and having an opportunity to participate in that moment.
ReplyDeleteWow...I've seen bugs on grills before, but never so many pretty butterflies. Do you know what those are? (besides dead?)
ReplyDeleteI dunno know the species -- looks like several different ones.
ReplyDeleteUsually I pick up grasshoppers only on drives through cropland. Millions of grasshoppers in MT and SD. But more butterflies. I also count dragonflies, crickets and moths in the grill.
The live fluttery butterflies are good for the thanks to be alive thing. The deceased ones on the radiator bum me out, gorgeously.
Heading back home through Iowa was like a hailstorm of bugs today. The windshield of our rented RV is a disaster area.
ReplyDeleteI didn't bring my butterfly identification book with me on this trip. I'll take a look once I get home and settled, assuming somebody doesn't beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteThey are apparently a selection of colias species. Or possibly all morphs of the clouded sulphur, Colias philodice.
ReplyDeleteOne description states: "The growth of forage-crop production for livestock across North America has greatly expanded the range and numbers of this butterfly."
Since I concluded on this trip that 80% of the US GNP is hay in round bales, this would fit.
Left and second from the left: Colias eurtheme, the alfalfa butterfly, female and male respectively.
ReplyDeleteImmediately right of that pair is a clouded sulfur (C. philodice), though I'm not certain because of the strength of the dots on the lower wings.