If I were to sum up the summer of 2010 with one word it would be this: butterflies. This was the summer of butterflies. We had hundreds of them in my little flowering oasis. Buckeyes, black swallowtails, monarchs, silver spotted skippers, sulphurs, cabbage butterflies, tiger swallowtails and more swirled in kaleidescopic frenzy about the butterfly bush and nepeta, especially. It was dazzling. I hadn't seen a buckeye since I was a child! Pictured above is just one sedum in my garden--and all of the flowers in my garden were just as loaded with butterflies. It was astonishing.
I would put a chair in the center of the garden and sit there, with scads of butterflies swirling about me and it felt like heaven must feel. Fragrant, warm, surrounded by color and beauty. Amazing.
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I would be remiss if I did not at least attempt to explain my absence from this blog:
The long, dreary months of last winter gave way to a wonderful spring, and I was overjoyed. Plants that normally fail to bloom in my garden due to late freezes rewarded my impatient vigil with glorious bowers of color and fragrance. June provided warm days and plenty of rain. But the warmth grew quickly uncomfortable. There were few balmy days, but plenty of blistering ones. Thankfully, the weekly rainfall continued, but the 90+ degree heat and humidity drove me indoors, and there I languished. Without the sunshine to restore my soul, it was as though the seasonal winter blues never really left.
If I had one goal for this blog, it was to never let it get bogged down with negativity. So I quit writing. Several of my friends asked me where I'd gone and I just had nothing to say. A blue cloud had settled on me like a shroud.
Now, as I face the prospect of another winter, I am peering out of my turtle shell. I can't remain completely silent for much longer, but what direction my writing will take is a mystery even to me.
You really don't need a goal Julena. You have a lot to say and share your lovely pictures like the butterflies you have posted. Express yourself not just for yourself but for the delight of your readers too. i kept checking your blog. Even i went silent for perhaps a longer period and began to ask questions if it is useful to any one. i wrote after a period of nine months. Hope you are doing fine Julena. Go where ever your heart takes you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your butterflies Jo, I have missed your lovely posts. Hope you are well and happy.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you have the blues before winter even hits! Maybe you could talk to your doctor about it. Yes indeed, it was a butterflly summer in Ohio. I've never seen so many butterflies! Your description was accurate, there were clouds of them in my garden all summer. It was wonderful!
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