Splendor in the Grass / Butterflies and Old Bones

"Nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower."
~ William Wordsworth

We went to the closed road by the Scotia Barrens shooting range so my husband could go for his weekly jog. It was hot and almost overwhelmingly sunny when we got there, but it clouded over some and a slight breeze developed, thank goodness, so I did not have to perish in the heat.

The road to the shooting range itself has been recently paved. But the closed road - which has been left to go back to wild - has not been mowed yet this summer, and there is a glorious selection of wildflowers growing along it. Almost every daisy had a pollinator on it, and there were red clovers and daisy fleabane aplenty. 

I fear they will finally mow it one of these days and steal all these beautiful blooms away - away from me, the enjoyer, and from the pollinators, whose sustenance they are. One of my best shots is above; more are available on Instagram. Enjoy the blooms while they last!

I walked out, as I always do, to the crossover that runs between the two roads, and as I suspected, I encountered butterflies. They often puddle there, and on this day, they were enjoying a special treat of old bones. The bones were remains left from a white-tailed deer that had decayed some time ago. (See the photo in the extras and a few more shots on Instagram.)

Butterflies, especially the males, like to do a thing called "puddling," in which they sit on mud, or on animal waste, or on decaying organic matter, to obtain vital nutrients. The males often use such nutrients to provide a "nuptial gift" to female butterflies during mating. I know, it may sound ooky to us, but to a female butterfly, such a gift might be considered a rare delicacy!

I challenge myself every day - and I challenge you, my friends - to find beauty in the little things you encounter in your journey. To look at the grass, unmown, and see the flowers in it, and the insects they nourish. To look at the old bones, and see them not as disgusting, but as a boon for the puddlers. 

To paraphrase what a wise man (Thoreau) once said, "Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads." You will be ever more happy if you learn to love this rare and beautiful Earth for what IS, rather than for what you wished it would be. An unmown path full of wildflowers. Butterflies feasting on bones. What it is, is enough. Even if it is only beautiful for this one day. To learn to let this one day, and whatever joy is in it, be enough. That's what love says.

"Love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free."
~ Maya Angelou

I have two soundtrack songs. First, for the splendid wildflowers in the shot above, I've got Miley Cyrus, covering the Tom Petty hit, Wildflowers, on the Stern Show. And for the butterflies feasting on bones in the extras, I've got Paul Simon, with Hearts and Bones. He wrote the song about his relationship with his one-time wife, the amazing Carrie Fisher.