Surprise: A Butterfly in the Winter Woods

"They seemed to have come suddenly upon happiness, as though they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods." - Edith Wharton, Ethan Frome.

The temperature was about 19 degrees F when I went out into our backyard to shoot some frozen bubbles on this morning. I took along a few toys, including a blue/purple 3-D butterfly sticker which you may see in the shot above, a clear plastic Christmas ornament, a dandelion paperweight, and a few other natural implements. I was out from about 8:40 a.m. to 9 a.m., when my hands got cold enough (yes, even with gloves on) that I decided to go in.

The bubble mix was leftover from last time but I added two more kinds of dish detergent (pale blue and pale diaphanous green) and some more Karo corn syrup (the clear kind) and water, and somehow it gave me FANTASTIC rainbow colors this time! The colors moved and changed. It was like a candy store.

You may see the amazing rainbows in a shot in the extras that also features the dandelion paperweight. The temps were not quite cold enough to get the full crystal development display that you will sometimes see during the bubble freezing process. Later in the week, when it dips to zero, if the winds stay calm and permit such activities, I'll try again.

I experimented, blowing bubbles with a straw instead of my normal bubble wand, because I've read about other people doing this. It simply did not work at ALL for me. I could not get more than a tiny bubble out with the straw; those who use a straw for this, tell me please, how do you keep from sucking the bubble mix IN?

I did have fun shooting PILES of bubbles on top of some of my items. I placed the dandelion paperweight at the bottom/back of the pile and shot THROUGH all of that, which turned out pretty cool. So that was the bubble freezing experiment for the morning: in which we find, to our surprise, a butterfly in the winter woods!

Later in the day, my husband and I walked up Tow Hill to the Barrens, and I climbed down a steep slope that I call the Knife Edge so I could photograph the reflections on the newly frozen water of a beaver pond. For fresh-freeze makes the best photos. The water is just frozen at the top and has depths of colors and darkness beneath it that will make for more complex images.

You may see a picture of the frozen ice reflections in the extras. I was calling it simply "Ice Shine," because that's what it is. But my friend Sijal, who is from Lahore, Pakistan, provided this description, which delighted me, and she says she loves that I have included it here: "Two giant feet under water. Like Buddha meditating standing in a lake." Isn't that wonderful?

Now, feel free to stop here because the rest of this story isn't so charming. You can skip what's below and go to the song links instead! You've been warned. . . .

In other, less positive news, we have a sad report to share from the yard. When my husband and I arrived home from errands the other day, a deer was in the front yard in the early afternoon. My husband asked me to see if I could catch a glimpse out the window before it disappeared.

I looked out the kitchen window in time to see the remaining fawn (see pic in extra photos here) walking from our property into the neighbors' property, limping. It seemed to have an injured or even broken right front leg. We wondered if it might have been hit by a car. The small deer was walking on its own power, though, and then it was gone.

Now, I have to let you know that this is a development that has been very upsetting to my husband and myself, as we love our yard animals and try to be good stewards of the land on their behalf. The little fawns played in our yard all summer and took refuge from the heat under our deck. It is distressing when bad things happen to them. In fact, sometimes, it breaks our hearts.

I sent a note to the neighbor lady, alerting her to the situation. She and her husband winter in Florida but their kids take care of the house and are there every day. They are aware the deer eats from the bird feeder in their yard (I've seen pictures). She instantly texted her family and neighbors to let them know about the situation.

So we are now all on the lookout to try to help and/or shelter the injured fawn. Some extremely COLD vortex weather is coming up on Friday, and I am worried sick. Yes, worried sick. Waking up in the night worried and sad, yes, that type.

I looked it up on the Internet, though, and there are resources that say that deer (even fawns) who have injured or even broken legs can heal and do fine. Some do. Some don't. They say a back leg injury is more painful to the deer than a front leg injury. They also say that it can be injurious to the wild deer or to the well-intentioned helper who tries to capture an animal to take it to rehab.

Years ago, on the way to work, I witnessed a deer injured in an accident with a car and contacted the amazing local animal rescue lady. She told me that the best thing to do was to see if the deer got up and walked on its own.

If it was a fawn, and was injured, if transported, it could be rehabbed and released. (If it was an adult, it would simply die in captivity; so if it could NOT walk away, mercy recommended it should be shot and put out of its misery.) In any case, it is not the rehab rescue's job to get the injured animal there.

I also had heard a horrible tale where a local lady had come upon an injured fawn, contacted the game commission, they showed up, she told them she'd pay to have the animal's injuries looked at by a vet, and they simply SHOT the fawn in front of her. So you can see why I'd be reluctant to simply call a game warden. (This is information, not advice; should you encounter the same situation, your mileage may vary.)

So. Anytime I am in our yard now, I am on high alert for the injured fawn. I don't know what we'll do if we see it. But we are good-hearted people and we will do the very best we can. If protection and/or assistance can be provided, we will try. If leaving it alone is what is needed, we will try. We will do our best. We will try. Lovers gotta love. The injured of the world will find you, if you have a good heart. Please choose to be one of the lovers and healers to those in need. Let your heart and home be a refuge. That is all.

Now I somehow have to put a soundtrack to all of this! Frozen bubbles. Wading Buddha. An injured fawn. Hmm. Let's see. Three photos. Three songs. One for my butterfly, here is Lily Kershaw, with As It Seems (a few lyrics below). Two, for my rainbow bubbles, Kacey Musgraves, with Rainbow. And three is for the wading buddha image and the tale of the injured fawn. Hold on, baby. Here's Pearl Jam, with Just Breathe.


P.S. My canonical frozen bubble tip list can be found here.


'Cause this life is as
Fragile as a dream, and
Nothing's ever really
As it seems