The Butterfly Bush

The Butterfly Bush, originally uploaded by sammy461.

There are two large butterfly bushes in our garden. Often, in the afternoon, I go out with the kids to watch the butterflies. Today, I counted fifteen butterflies and moths on the bushes. The orange monarchs have come and gone, but we have many yellow ones like this one, as well as some the most unusual shades of blue. Butterflies are so otherworldly, in their beauty and frailty, that seeing so many like this does feel like a small miracle.

Have you ever felt that a butterfly came just for you? So often, with the butterflies, I have that prick of awe, of connectedness. Apparently, I am not alone in the feeling. According to the Wikipedia entry on butterflies: “One Japanese superstition says that if a butterfly enters your guestroom and perches behind the bamboo screen, the person whom you most love is coming to see you.  However, large numbers of butterflies are viewed as bad omens. When Taira no Masakado was secretly preparing for his famous revolt, there appeared in Kyoto so vast a swarm of butterflies that the people were frightened — thinking the apparition to be a portent of coming evil.”