January 1st 2008

With the rose, the butterfly's deeply in love
A thousand times hovering round;
But round himself, all tender like gold,
The sun's sweet ray is hovering found.

-Heinrich Heine, "New Spring"

It's beautiful today in the Bay Area, and I thought I might go out with the camera to take my first photos of 2008, but it just felt too nice to laze in bed today. It's comfy warm under the covers. :) I am happy right now, much happier then I was a year ago. I guess that's why I have spent so much time today, daydreaming about what the next few months might be like.

I have some big plans. Really big plans. The first of those big plans is to get back into my walking and stretching that I have been ignoring lately. It's so easy to slack off in the winter time, especially when my Fibromyalgia gives me an excuse. But I have a certain goal I am working toward, so I want to be in shape for when the time is exactly right for hiking up Mt. San Bruno, in my quest for the Mission Blue Butterfly.

That's it in the above photo. Isn't she amazing? I have been wanting to photograph her for a long time, and I have done some extensive research into where and when to start looking for her. She is still on the endangered species list, but in recent years they have been coming back strong.

Apparently the only place in the world you can find her is right here in the Bay Area, mostly along the San Mateo coastline, atop Mt. San Bruno, and sometimes she can be seen on Twin Peaks in San Francisco. I have a small window of opportunity between late March and early July, and then she will be gone for another season. She is a tiny little butterfly, but that color, she just amazes me. Hopefully while I am up there I might also find the San Bruno Elfin butterfly as well. :)

San Bruno Elfin

I am starting out the year with a few other small goals. I need to do more with my YOGA, so I will probably be signing up for a class in a couple weeks, and I want to take another online class through the Disney Family Learning Center, and probably the biggest of the small goals, I want to take a pottery class that's being offered nearby. That's a big one for me, because I haven't done much in the way of craft projects in the last few years. But it seems like it would be fun, so why not try something new?

I have plans for my garden this year, but I can't really do much with that right now, it's all kind of a matter of hurry up and wait at this point, but I am doing some research into vegetables and flowers, so I kinda have some idea of who, what, where and when. I am probably going to focus on the roses and the small vegetables like Grape tomatoes and maybe some peppers. It will be fun. I might plant some flowers to draw in the butterflies, I got a late start last year, so not much happened, although I had a ton of skippers. It must have been a good year for them! :)

Red Admiral

Common Gray Hairstreak

So, wish me luck. I found and photographed the Grey Hairstreak and the Red Admiral butterflies this past autumn, both new butterflies to me, so now I just need to find that Mission Blue. :) I know she's there, just waiting for this crazy lady with the camera to find her. :)

Blue-Butterfly Day
By Robert Frost

It is blue-butterfly day here in spring
And when these sky-flakes down in flurry on flurry
There is more unmixed color on the wing
Than flowers will show for days unless they hurry.

But these are flowers that fly and all but sing
And now from having ridden out desire
They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.

-OndineMonet