Double Butterfly: Ready to Fly / Autumn Vortex

And then I had another one of those days that was just chock full of good things! When I went out in the morning, our butterfly was doing just fine. Over the course of several hours, she climbed up off her chrysalis and onto the twig that supported it.

In the shot above, she is perched in front of the blue butterfly stake (given to me by my friend Anne) that I put there for emotional support and encouragement. Somehow it looks like a double butterfly!

The caterpillar that went into J-formation the day before, well, guess what: its leaf fell, and so I had to go get it and render an assist. I trimmed up the leaf carefully, trying not to disturb it. The cat moved around some; it didn't like being moved! In the end, I moved the J-formation caterpillar and its leaf onto the same pot of flowers; clipped it in place with a binder clip!

Our butterfly was still here around 11 when we left for town. I had a lunch date with dear friends at the Waffle Shop. I bid farewell and bon voyage to our butterfly as I got in the car. I suspected I would never see her again, and I was right. It turned a bit breezy and a little sunny in early afternoon, and I believe she caught a fine breeze and headed skyward, at last. Farewell, my love! Bon voyage, butterfly!

And then my husband dropped me off, and I had a lovely lunch at the Waffle Shop, where we celebrated my good friend and former boss Judy's 85th birthday (but who's counting!). Did you know you can get a free cinnamon roll at the Waffle Shop on your birthday? No? I didn't either, but now we BOTH know!

Some of us had chicken soup, and tuna melts, and coffee. Judy had her cinnamon roll, with a birthday candle stuck in the butter that came on the side. I tucked into the S2, which is special #2: two eggs, home fries, and an English muffin for $6.59 plus tax and tip. Everything was good.

We told some stories and updated each other on our lives, and we had some good, long belly laughs. The lady at the next table picked up her ketchup and shook it hard. Well, guess what: the lid was not on. Ketchup splurked EVERYWHERE, including onto our table, and down on the floor, and all over the poor lady's shirt!

I was going to go over and help wipe the ketchup off with hand sanitizer, which I've discovered can help keep a stain from setting. Tomato stains are bad for that. But I realized instantly that walking over and rubbing a strange lady's boobies might be perceived oddly in such a setting. Just a little TOO intimate. Ketchup or no. So we all just had a good laugh, and the lady laughed with us. It was hilarious in the way that physical comedy always is. You try NOT to laugh. And then you just can't help it!

My husband, meanwhile, was grocery shopping at Giant and enjoying a nice cheesesteak and fries at C.C. Pepper's. My friends and I were walking out the front door as he got there, and I was loving them up in advance of our departure: "I love you, Judy. I love you, Cindy. I love you, Peggy. Gina? Where's Gina? I love you, Gina." I am a firm believer in showering your friends with love, including the WORDS, which we can wrap around our hearts in tough times. It was a good day; we were all together again, and we were able to share a good laugh or two, in spite of it all!

My husband and I headed home, and I hadn't had a walk yet, so he dropped me off near the parking lot by my favorite pond. There is some water in it now, not a lot, after the recent rains. I stood and took photos of the reflections, and I noticed an odd disturbance on the surface. It was something making waves, something spinning!

As I looked more closely (and continued taking pictures!), I realized it was a moth, upside-down, spinning on the surface. I resolved to rescue it as soon as it got close enough. But just as I began to worry, it arrived at a leaf, righted itself, and hopped onto the leaf, and safety. So you may see the shot that I liked surprisingly much, of the weird moth vortex scene on the pond, in the extras. I am calling it the Autumn Vortex. There's a lot of movement there. Just LOOK at that spinning leaf up top!

We've got two photos (and I didn't even get to show you my lunch, or my lovely birthday-having ex-boss!), so let's have two songs. This one is for our beautiful butterfly who caught the wind and flew away: the Blues Project, with a cover of Donovan's Catch the Wind (we saw and heard this song on an episode from season 1 of Miami Vice, which we just bought on DVD and are enjoying immensely). The second one is for the spinning moth making a vortex on the pond surface: Dead or Alive, with You Spin Me Round (Like a Record).

P.S. A little side story: The Waffle Shop takes credit cards now. In the old days, they didn't. Quite a few years ago, I took all of the people I supervised (maybe around 12 people) out to breakfast at this very same Waffle Shop. I went to pay. Planned to use a credit card. No go! They did not take them. I didn't have enough cash, and was afraid they'd make me go back in the kitchen and wash dishes. I went out to the car and got a check out of my checkbook. Whew! (No, I no longer carry a checkbook. Yes, now they DO take credit cards.)

This butterfly's back-story:
The chrysalis arrives
The chrysalis darkens
The butterfly emerges