It started like this.....
My Man had pulled into a lay-by on the bike, and saw this (rather nice) jacket. He knows of my love of fabric, so he went to investigate, and saw a little chrysalis on the cuff (left side in picture). He brought it home, and I put it for safe keeping in my shed.
The chrysalis was its own glowing little jewel with gold iridescent highlights.
On Monday I went in to check how it was, and saw this....
and the breathtaking, newly born Red Admiral was close by, with wings still wet, and trailing butterfly watercolours on my hands when it crawled on, for me to take it to safety outside. There are many spider friends and sticky webs in my shed.
 |
| Look at those beautiful "magic thread" antennae. |
It quickly tucked itself under a large
raspberry leaf....
and stayed there....
until yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, when it came around to the top of the leaf....
I missed its flight, so I hope it goes safely to wherever it needs to go, and lives to lay its eggs in the Spring. I almost felt like a midwife.
We are back to the grey and wet today, but we have been so grateful for some of this....
On Sunday we went to the beach.
The sea was galloping with happiness
The pebbles were smiling at the sun,
This little moth flew by and carefully chose a safe and sunny stone to rest on, staying for the whole time we were there.
People and dogs were enjoying the sea and the beach, and we....
we sat and soaked it all up, drinking aromatic spicy Chai tea that I had prepared that morning.
 |
| My Man |
We stayed for about three hours, taking photos and film, lying back against surprisingly comfortable stones with eyes closed, writing, mindful of each moment, as days such as this have been so rare for us here this year.
We went to the library book sale and found
a few treasures.
and picked up a bag of gram flour from the
excellent Indian shop, for making pancakes :~)
We met a lovely, friendly feline...
The grasses and mosses on The Tilly Keepers
turned into the hills she sees from where
she rests. I've grown to like them...I
wasn't sure for a while. I did enjoy cutting
the pieces to fit...like making a jigsaw puzzle.
I am now playing with the moons.
what an absolutely wonderful post. always loved watching the butterfly emerge from the chrysalis. and loved hearing the sound of the ocean. and seeing The Tilly Keepers once again. hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteThank you Deanna. All well here, hope it is so with you too.
DeleteThe butterfly! This is just awesome. I had no idea the color could come off like that when they're newly emerged, it must've been magical. I just had a butterfly encounter yesterday which was strange as we're nearly into the cold times now. I decided it was my great-aunt Aggie come to visit me from the spirit world, she loved butterflies. :) So after that I especially loved seeing this, thank you. And then a wonderful day with book treats to top it off and I really like the hills on Tilly's cloth. xoxo
ReplyDeleteThank you Peggy. It really was magical.....what a happy~making experience. I love that your great-aunt Aggie visits you as a butterfly spirit. Tilly visits me as a feather. x x x
DeleteYour posts have been overflowing with riches! And your beautiful choice of words adds to the photos/videos making the experience for this far-away reader complete.
ReplyDeleteWhat a span of days with nature you've had :)
I like the hills, they add interest and depth. They hold Tilly's spirit well, yes?
Thank you for your lovely kind words Nancy.
Delete"They hold Tilly's spirit well, yes?" oh I like that....and yes, I think they do :~)
oh wow, what a beautiful post. the wings, the day, the sea, the man, you two... i feel happy here.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you liked it Jude, and thank you for feeling happy here.
Deleteglorious- all of it. loved all of it, all that you share & celebrate, and seeing your sea.
ReplyDeleteThank you Cindy. Yes, the sea :~)
DeleteI could feel the smooth stones under my back as I read about your time at the beach. :)
ReplyDeleteHey hey Brooke....thank you for calling in :~)) I found two lovely heart-shaped stones and put them together to take a photo of them, but got distracted before I took the shot, and never found them again!
DeleteI hope all is well with your lovely family. x
Lovely post with the photos of the sea and of the chrysalis. You made me chuckle with your comment about the antennae! Your cloth is so cool--lot of personality there. Won't you post it over at the diaries?
ReplyDeletebest, nadia
Hey Nadia....thank you for visiting. I've been meaning to post it over on diaries....I've done a little more on it now and just need to get around to taking photos!
Delete