Metaphors of Life Journal: An Embarrassment of Riches in a Wildflower Patch
Hmmm, how often is the reward of perseverance a double blessing?
(Go to www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 to view the photographs in this post.)
I have been on vacation this past week. If you know me, you will know this means I have been hiking through meadows and along sunny woodland paths in search of the winged jewels of nature. Braving the hot, humid weather and passing thunderstorms to add species to my summer list.
As much as I love this pastime, it has become progressively more challenging to pursue in the 15 years I have been at it. Regrettably, there have been noticeably fewer of these delightful creatures to see as the years pass. Global warming and the extreme weather it breeds, and other implications of man’s environmental footprint, have taken their toll.
Earlier this week, I was butting up against that reality as I scoured one of my favourite conservation areas in the hope of adding one of the elusive Hairstreak butterflies to my year’s list. I had hiked 45 minutes down a usually productive trail with minimal results.
I turned off the main trail to check out an occasionally productive scrub area. Off to my left a patch of pinkish-purple wildflowers was in full bloom. I stopped in my tracks in awe (yes, we nature geeks do that on occasion) as I realized that the wildflower patch was a buzz of activity.
Bees, four species of butterflies and half a dozen Hummingbird Clearwing moths (like the one in the photo at the top of this post) had congregated there – drawn from near and far to feast on the wildflowers. I lingered there for 15 minutes to enjoy this unexpected but welcome spectacle.
It occurs to me now that this garden party of insects was representative – a random act of metaphor in my world – of the way life ebbs and flows. Days, weeks and even months pass during which we trudge along taking care of business and meeting our many obligations.
Then, quite without warning, we are gifted with an embarrassment of riches as a reward for our discipline and perseverance. The drudgery of life seems a little less imposing.
(Go to www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 to view the photographs in this post.)
And yes, I did turn up this Striped Hairstreak butterfly on the return hike to the nature centre. So I was doubly blessed on this occasion when patience paid its dividend.
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
(Go to www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 to view the photographs in this post.)
I have been on vacation this past week. If you know me, you will know this means I have been hiking through meadows and along sunny woodland paths in search of the winged jewels of nature. Braving the hot, humid weather and passing thunderstorms to add species to my summer list.
As much as I love this pastime, it has become progressively more challenging to pursue in the 15 years I have been at it. Regrettably, there have been noticeably fewer of these delightful creatures to see as the years pass. Global warming and the extreme weather it breeds, and other implications of man’s environmental footprint, have taken their toll.
Earlier this week, I was butting up against that reality as I scoured one of my favourite conservation areas in the hope of adding one of the elusive Hairstreak butterflies to my year’s list. I had hiked 45 minutes down a usually productive trail with minimal results.
I turned off the main trail to check out an occasionally productive scrub area. Off to my left a patch of pinkish-purple wildflowers was in full bloom. I stopped in my tracks in awe (yes, we nature geeks do that on occasion) as I realized that the wildflower patch was a buzz of activity.
Bees, four species of butterflies and half a dozen Hummingbird Clearwing moths (like the one in the photo at the top of this post) had congregated there – drawn from near and far to feast on the wildflowers. I lingered there for 15 minutes to enjoy this unexpected but welcome spectacle.
It occurs to me now that this garden party of insects was representative – a random act of metaphor in my world – of the way life ebbs and flows. Days, weeks and even months pass during which we trudge along taking care of business and meeting our many obligations.
Then, quite without warning, we are gifted with an embarrassment of riches as a reward for our discipline and perseverance. The drudgery of life seems a little less imposing.
(Go to www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2 to view the photographs in this post.)
And yes, I did turn up this Striped Hairstreak butterfly on the return hike to the nature centre. So I was doubly blessed on this occasion when patience paid its dividend.
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
~ Subscribe to Michael’s Metaphors of Life Journal aka Things That Make Me Go Hmmm at its’ internet home www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog2. Instructions for subscribing are provided in the “Subscribe to this Blog: How To” instructions page in the right sidebar. If you’re reading this post on another social networking site, come back regularly to my page for postings once a week.
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