Moth Memories

I'm late for a very important date!

I agreed to a challenge from Beauty Flows regarding pollinators, and I can't find the photo I was going to use. So, I'll have to share some stories instead.

Butterflies have always had a magical quality to me--and probably for most--which is why they are such a loved insect. I've heard that when a butterfly lands on you, you get a wish. I wonder if the same goes with moths?

When I was thirteen-ish years old my family had regained a hunting/fishing lodge in the Medicine Bow National Forest. My mother, sister and I were driving on the very wet and muddy early-summer roads, and got stuck. We ended up walking six miles in the mountains to get to the lodge and get help to free the car. It was a long, wet (because it sprinkled on us the whole time) journey.

On one of our frequent breaks, we sat on a log at the side of the road. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge, grey, fuzzy moth the size of a desert plate appeared fluttering down the road. I'd never seen any moth that size, much less in the mountains. It was beautiful, too, covered with dove-grey feather and white markings.

It drifted straight over to us, taking a look, and then settled itself right on my knee. It sat there for quite a while, and then just took off and fluttered the rest of the way down the road.

Most butterflies and moths in Wyoming in are small, so the size of this one really stood out and had an otherworldly quality to it. I think all three of us wanted to believe it was an angel in insect clothing.

There is one other time where a butterfly has made a special appearance, and I've wondered if it could be a spirit in disguise.

As I mentioned just last week, my sister, Dyan, died in 2001. I got married in late August of 2002. Of course I wished she could be there, and her absence was very palpable, as was that of my Grandmother who had died three weeks before my wedding.

After the wedding, a gigantic, yellow and black, butterfly (you know the type) fluttered through the tent we had erected in my parents back yard. I've only seen this type of butterfly once in Wyoming. (When one had attached itself to my drumset after I'd played outdoors, cocooned and then birthed itself in February in my bedroom.) I've definitely never seen such a butterfly out in the plains, where there are no trees.

The butterfly on my wedding day fluttered right up to me, and landed on one of the tent lines, maybe three feet away from me, and then took off, disappearing over the prairie.

My mother and I had always said that butterflies reminded us of Dyan, and so it felt like she'd sent the butterfly to let me know that she was there, even if I couldn't see her. So, butterflies and moths now hold an additional special place in my heart.

Thank you so much, Tammie Lee, for letting me join the challenge, and I look forward to hopping around and seeing everyone else's posts! If anyone is interested in seeing more posts, pictures and/or artwork related to pollinators, go over to Beauty Flows for the list!

Do you have any special butterfly memories?