Tattered~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life

(click/tap to enlarge)

and torn by hungry birds,

but persevering.

A tattered beauty,

fluttering by.

I love both the bird and the butterfly,

but this round goes to the bird.

Cheers to you from The Holler creatures~

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240 thoughts on “Tattered~”

    1. Gives a new view of “the circle of life”? I like the closeup that allowed me to learn that some butterflies’ bodies are color-matched to their wings. Thank you for the visual and visually appealing lesson!

      Reply

  2. This is impossible! Am I first to comment?

    Lovely. Beautiful. No surprise. And on the tip of the needle, to love both the prey and the predator. A step closer to really know what love means I think.

    You ever do a shoot of Monarch Butterflies? I know two places in California. Pacific Grove, aka Butterfly Town. The other near Morro Bay, that only locals would know or could find – a stand of eucalyptus beside the road, above the beach. When in bloom the trees are more butterfly than leaves.

    Reply

    1. Smiling. You are #1 Neil! I have seen them in Pacific Grove, but not in the numbers that I know can be there. I would love to see them in Morro Bay and revisit the otters. So beautiful there. Take good care Neil & thank you my friend დ

      Reply

  3. Beautifully taken Cindy, but as you say, you love both of natures critters. And like them all, the journey is a little tattered by those encounters. Thank you for sharing kind lady, and may there be more where they come from 🤗❤️🙏

    Reply
  5. Anonymous

    I love the beautiful photos. Saw a bird grab a cloudless sulphur butterfly while it was dancing through my yard this morning. Never thought birds would dine on butterflies. Happy day!

    Reply

  7. Great shots, Cindy. That is the law of nature. It seems tough, sometimes even cruel, but that is the rule of nature. A life cycle. In this case the moth’s demise means the continuity of life of the bird.

    Reply

  12. The Bird And The Butterfly Poem by Jessica Foyle

    With beauty and grace, with her wings tipped in gold,
    She danced with the roses; she danced in the cold,
    Her delicate body that glittered with dew
    Virgin eyes to the morning, so young and so new.

    She sang to the bluebells, she laughed with the trees,
    Teasing the wind and chasing the bees,
    She drank from the flowers and slept in the sun,
    This sweet paradise, just perfect for one.

    He flew through the leaves, as dark as the night,
    His sleek, glossy body was catching the light,
    And sending reflections that dappled the grass
    His fearless demeanor and eyes of burnt glass.

    So strong and so quick in his new paradise
    As he snatched at the worms and the hardy woodlice
    The black king of the creatures, the all-seeing eye
    The shadow, the prowler, the hunter, the spy

    His sharpened sense caught the whisper of flight
    As it echoed around him and just out of sight
    A flash of her gold, through the amber and green
    When he saw her glide by, like a ghost of a dream.

    And with all of their might and with every last breath,
    They danced with each other, the dance of death
    Their bodies caught up in this final sway.
    The old sun held its breath as it watched the display, this last day

    Until they fell like ash, swept into the breeze,
    And the sun dropped down to its weary knees
    And bowed its red head at the moon rising high.
    And sang the bittersweet song of the bird and the butterfly.

    Reply

    1. Oh my gosh! This gave me goosebumps. So very beautiful, accurate and moving. Thank you very much for sharing this Sue. I will look up the poet. What a talent! Be well my friend დ

      Reply

  25. Touching pictures of real nature. I hope that lovely butterfly laid eggs before its demise. We raised butterflies from our bed of parsley this past summer so the birds wouldn’t eat them before they emerged.

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        1. Edna St. Vincent Millay described this as ‘savage beauty,’ in her poem ‘Assault’:

          I had forgotten how the frogs must sound
          After a year of silence, else I think
          I should not so have ventured forth alone
          At dusk upon this unfrequented road.

          II.

          I am waylaid by Beauty. Who will walk
          Between me and the crying of the frogs?
          Oh, savage Beauty, suffer me to pass,
          That am a timid woman, on her way
          From one house to another!

          Reply
  31. Anonymous

    Deeply moving and technically superb observation of wildlife. Thank you as ever, Cindy, for seeing nature clearly and seeing it whole.

    Reply

  35. I never thought about birds eating butterflies. How sad for the butterfly, and yet, how happy the bird must be. We do the same thing when we chew on a chicken drumstick or a steak. Unfortunately, that’s life (for one, and death for another).

    Reply

  38. Great shots, Cindy, thank you!!

    Yes, the cycles and realities of life play out in front of us constantly. We need just look.

    I, for one, am really freaked out by the food chain.
    It’s harsh to know that for one life to survive, another must die.
    C’est la vie!
    ❦🌹

    Reply

    1. Edna St. Vincent Millay referred to this as ‘savage beauty’. The phrase has stayed with me forever because it is so accurate and captures both the complexity and the feelings. Take good care Resa დ

      Reply

  42. Cindy, thank you for these beautiful, as always, photos that pay homage to the intriguing drama of prey and predator, its savage beauty is thought-provoking. Living with multiple dogs and cats for 27 years on a country property teeming with baby birds in spring, chipmunks, squirrels, garter snakes, and a pond full of hopeful frogs introduced me to the realities of nature pretty quickly. The repeated trauma (for city-person me) of seeing my sweet pets morphing into killing machines has become…well, simply life. And you captured that reality perfectly!

    Reply

    1. You are so welcome Susan. And yes, moving to the country can be quite shocking to the system in the beginning. It’s been 17 years now and I am fully adjusted, but in the beginning I used to have nightmares involving rattlesnakes, coyotes and black widow spiders, all of whom live here and more! We have thankfully all learned to stay out of each others way დ

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      1. What a lovely selection of critters you have! Rattlers and black widows are the stuff of nightmares for sure. On our little spread in Ontario, we have coyotes, wolves, deer, and black bears moving through and occasionally taking up residence on the property but we all manage to stay out of each other’s way. Even after all these years, it’s still a thrill whenever we get to see one of them. Cheers to nature and its savage beauty!

        Reply

  46. Hi Cindy. I notice you have ‘followed’ my blog. Thank you, but sadly I no longer post at all. I do look at my reader every week or so, and like your photos, so thank you!

    Reply

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