Wednesday 22 July 2015

All aflutter

The summer days seem to float or flutter by, infinitely beautiful but too soon a memory.

I have seen so many butterflies this year, I don't know whether that is because of our hot dry weather or a fancy of Nature, but I am enjoying every wing beat.

Here are pictures of Swallowtail butterflies visiting a well named Butterfly bush.

"The Western Tiger Swallowtail is very similar to the other tiger swallowtails with its distinctive black stripes on a yellow background. The lunulate submarginal markings on the underside of the hindwing are all yellow, while the submarginal spots on the forewing underside form a band. The uppermost spot on the border of the hindwing above is yellow. Wingspan: 65 to 90 mm."
 (http://www.cbif.gc.ca/eng/species-bank/butterflies-of-canada/western-tiger-swallowtail/?id=1370403265809)

I find butterflies difficult to photograph because they don't stay still for long. They are more active with the hotter weather too. So when I spotted this Butterfly Bush covered with Western Swallowtail Butterflies I just had to stop and catch their flutter in my cameras shutter.
 
 
 
"Love is like a butterfly, it goes where it pleases and it pleases wherever it goes.
Love is like a butterfly, hold it too tight, it'll crush. Hold it too loose, it'll fly."
 
Author unknown
 

 
"I would like to think that the singer is the butterfly, and the drummer was just the little grub in the ground, working to become a caterpillar."
Robert Wyatt 


 
“I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days - three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.” 
 
John Keats

 
 
“We are all butterflies. Earth is our chrysalis.” 
 
LeeAnn Taylor
 

 
“The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity.” 
 
George Carlin

 
"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." 

Rabindranath Tagore

 
"Butterflies are self propelled flowers."R.H. Heinlein


 "We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."Maya Angelou


 
"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." 

Hans Christian Anderson


That's all the photographs I have for today, hope you have enjoyed them.
 
 
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Here is a painting that I did this week. It is an ink and watercolour painting of Siwash Rock in Stanley Park.




"Siwash Rock, also known by its Squamish name Skalsh or Slhx̱i7lsh, is a famous rock outcropping in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada's Stanley Park. A legend among the Indigenous Squamish surrounds the rock. It is between 15 and 18 metres tall (50–60 feet). It became known to mariners as Nine Pin Rock for its vague resemblance to a bowling pin at one point too."
 
"About 32 million years ago, a volcanic dike formed in the sedimentary rock that forms the foundation of the park (sandstone and mudstone). Magma was forced to the surface through a fissure in the Earth's crust creating the basalt stack, which is more resistant to erosion than the softer sandstone cliffs. Siwash Rock is the only such sea stack in the Vancouver area."
Wikipedia
 
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Thank you for all your kind comments on my last post.
 
Thanks for stopping by,
 
happy Whimsy Wednesday,
 
Gillian
  
 

11 comments:

  1. These are wonderful. I have never seen a swallow-tail outside of a butterfly farm.

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  2. A beautiful post! I have only seen Swallowtail caterpillars in the UK ... and adults in the Peloponnese.

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  3. I'm glad to hear you have seen a LOT of butterflies this year! Sadly, I haven't...but we still have August so maybe there will be a many then.

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  4. Hello Gillian, awesome collection of Swallowtail photos. And I love your watercolor. It is a cool scene, I would like to visit this park! Have a happy day!

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  5. Beautiful Swallowtail images Gillian. And that is a painting so superb, yet again. Is it the Robert Wyatt, musician?

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  6. Great photos of all those beautiful butterflies on the flowers. Thanks also for all the quotes about butterflies - really thought-provoking and enjoyable!

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  7. Enjoyed viewing all the beautiful butterflies. Your painting is wonderful!

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  8. What magical shots of the butterflies! And your painting of the rock is so lovely.

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  9. Your Siwash Rock is beautiful, Gillian. And, I love the butterfly photos with perfect quotes! Thank you. Also, that eagle in your last post: WOW! Such a magnificent bird. Hope you enjoy a wonderful week. blessings ~ tanna

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  10. your images are just fantastic, such a thrill to see so many beautiful butterflies, and get so many great captures.

    your art is gorgeous, you are such wonderful artist!!!

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  11. They love to skip and flutter to so many different spaces. Not easy to capture as you write. I like the George Carlin quote. The Caterpillar does do all the work and rarely receives any of the attention:) But it's where they begin. I smile at the summer comment. All but soon a distant memory.....your summer flies by and ours.....drags on. The heat here can be unbearable and we just hope we'll make it to October alive:) There are still some months in there to enjoy I think....including the gorgeous October autumn. What a dream!

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