Dancing With Our New Tenants

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a humming bird who had taken up residence in our garden. He must have been a shy little fellow (or perhaps his mission as a messenger was complete!) because as soon as I wrote about him, he disappeared. I now have two new tenants dancing outside my office window - butterflies! A yellow one and an orange one with beautiful brown and white painted spots. Coincidence? Perhaps not.

Butterflies are considered symbols of the spirit and the soul. In fact, 'psyche' is the Greek word for both 'soul' and 'butterfly'. In many cultures, butterflies symbolize transformation - rebirth into a new life after being inside a cocoon for a period of time. They are a reminder to make changes when the opportunity arises. They also prompt us to approach life with a sense of lightness and joy; to get up and move; to flit and dance around as they do. And in Eastern cultures, a butterfly symbolizes a woman's delicacy; she should be treated with kindness and gentleness. Yes, indeed. It looks like my beautiful new tenants are inviting me to dance.




I wanted to share a photo that resembled these two colorful creatures, but I couldn't find one that did justice to their beauty. But for me, this drawing by Elizabeth Perry captures their essence. It's from the Museum Drawing Project; each day for nine months, Elizabeth visited the public spaces of museums in Pittsburgh, drawing something in a small sketchbook as her response to each experience "du jour". Talk about a brilliant way to get out of your cocoon! These days, you can enjoy fresh sketches from her own personal "garden", a daily sketch-blog she calls Woolgathering.