Quiet Contemplation::3

Family.

This picture was from last September.

Every last one of us was there.

Our first family getaway and hopefully not our last.

This weekend we go to an extended family reunion of sorts.

Lots of people.

Lots of personalities.

Not all of us are best friends, so to speak.

We don't see eye to eye.

There is unspoken resentment.

There is veiled judgement.

And above all, thankfully...

there is still love.

Quiet Contemplation::2

It has been a strange season for butterflies.

We have seen more Monarchs that we have ever seen.

In fact, Athena has never seen one until this June.

We have a late blooming lilac and it is attracting

butterflies like crazy.

This, lest you think I am nuts, is NOT a monarch

but and Canadian Tiger Swallowtail.

Athena has caught several.

She catches them, draws them and finally releases them.

Many, like this one, have ragged wings.

A bird perhaps?

One never really can grasp the beauty of a butterfly

unless one takes the time to look.

Take the time.

Quiet Contemplation:: 1

They really are as busy as they say,

and my how they gather at my chive blossoms.

If I counted I'll bet there would be two dozen

or more of these bumble bees.

Some are so large (over an inch long!)

that the sturdy stems of the blossoms

bend and bow under their weight.

My mother and brother are terrified of bumble bees;

even though they are reluctant to sting.

Not I. They just bumble around doing their jobs

bumping into things because of their poor eyesight.

Each one is slightly different from the other

but they all have their work at hand in common.

Bumble Bees.

Friends