Butterfly Garden

Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly

 

I stumbled upon this little guy last summer while walking through a garden at a local nature sanctuary. I was sitting on an old Victorian bench, white paint chipping to reveal the rusted iron beneath, and surrounding it was flourishing bushes that were rich with roses, trumpet vine, and blue and pink morning glories. The vines had begun to tangle themselves in the holes of the metalwork in the bench's legs, and I had been sketching a rose bush in front of me when I caught a movement from the corner of my eye. When I looked, the butterfly was a mere foot away from me, and I could tell it had just recently emerged from it cocoon, because its wings were still a bit damp. It was a bit like a dream, really, with the endless colors and life surrounding the garden. It was a watercolor come to life. The vine bushes surrounding me were flourishing with Monarchs, yellow swallowtails, black swallowtails, and Painted Lady butterflies, and rabbits nibbled at the leaves of the plants. It saddens me that such pure life is becoming increasingly harder to come by.