“Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
I love spotting things on my walks like this butterfly. I’ve been pursuing him or his brothers and sisters for the last couple of months in order to take his photo. They were all very camera shy, not wanting to reveal those spotted wings for me. Butterflies are a gift of summer that edges over into autumn. I see them in my walks through the fields before the last cutting of hay harvests the late blooming flowers for the cows to eat when snow starts flying.
Some of you who follow my Facebook author page know I post photos from time to time that I take on my walks. Sometimes the clouds and sky. Sometimes flowers.
Sometimes butterflies. Sometimes Oscar. Sometimes snakes and bugs. The digital camera on my phone makes sharing my walks easy. But it does take a while to jerk the phone out of my pocket and click on the camera icon. Often too long and I miss some great shots I would love to share with you. A few weeks ago, I was walking along a fence row and a wild turkey flew up right in front of me. So I think that it sure would have been nice to have had my camera out, but I didn’t get that camera out. Two steps farther on, another wild turkey flew out right in front of me. A missed opportunity. A day or two later, I was walking along a thicket of trees in another field and a fawn, still sporting spots, must have been spooked by Oscar. It jumped out right in front of me. Again, if only I’d been ready with my camera. Maybe I should start wearing one of those motion sensor cameras around my neck. 🙂
Then there are these butterflies I’ve been chasing all summer. I get my camera ready and try to sneak up on them but just when I’m set to hit the picture taking button, the butterfly flutters away. That’s what butterflies do. Flutter away and refuse to cooperate with the picture taking human.
So some of the things I spot on my walks I can only share in words. I do that at times on my Facebook page and all the time when I’m writing. I want the words of my stories to make pictures in your head. The things I spot on my walk may or may not find their way onto my Facebook page, but they have a good chance of someday finding their way into one of my stories.
I took a break from birthday stories tonight, but I have a few more I hope to share. You have seven more days to throw your name in my giveaway hat if you haven’t already. You can read about the prizes on my Website Events Page. Leave a comment here with a way to contact you to enter or send an e-mail from my website. Always fun to hear from you and I’ve enjoyed all the birthday stories you’ve shared.
Thanks for reading. Hope that happiness butterfly lights on your shoulder.