Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Papilio glaucus

Enjoy these images of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail — which spent a good deal of time drinking (?) out of the surprisingly fecund cracks between the bricks in Prospect Park — as I slip out this morning from behind the Backyard and Beyond desk to get married.“Arrival is the culmination of the sequence of events, the last in the list, the terminal station, the end of the line. And the idea of arrival begets questions about the journey and how long it took. Did it take the dancer two hours to dance the ballet, or two hours plus six months of rehearsals, or two hours plus six months plus a life given over to becoming the instrument that could, over and over, draw lines and circles in the air with precision and grace? Sumi-e painters painted with famous speed, but it took decades to become someone who could manage a brush that way, who had that feel for turning leaves or water into a monochromatic image. You fall in love with someone and the story might be how you met, courted, consummated, but it might also be how before all that, time and trouble shaped both of you over the years, sanded your rough spots and wore away your vices until your scars and needs and hopes came together like halves of a broken whole.” ~ Rebecca Solnit, in The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness 

mthew

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14 responses to “Papilio glaucus”

  1. Ellen

    Wow! Congratulations to you & M!

    Reply
  2. Kathleen

    Wow! Congratulations to you and your bride! Exciting news! 😊

    Reply
  3. Michele Dreger

    Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!

    Reply
  4. Erin

    Many congrats to you! Best wishes to you both!

    Reply
  5. Sharon Bixby

    Beautiful images. Wishing you both a lifetime of joy.

    Reply
  6. Karl Madden

    Congratulations! I love the Solnit quote.

    Reply
  7. Leslie E. Farragher

    A partner in nature! Congratulations!

    Reply
  8. mthew

    Thank you all, friends and readers!

    Reply
  9. Peggy Herron

    Wow Wishing you and your partner many happy seasons together .

    Reply
  10. Jose Conde

    Many congratulations Mathew to you both. Thanks for the quote and energy. The Earth needs more like u!

    Reply
  11. Jose Conde

    PS – I’d play Cuban music for free for ya to celebrate. I’m in the slope! Paz! http://www.olafresca.com

    Reply
    1. mthew

      Thank you! Merci! Gracias!

      Reply
  12. kathleen

    Congratulations! 🎉🍾🍸

    Reply
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    […] More pictures of this very photogenic creature. […]

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