Our Milkweed plants are sprouting very nicely in my DIY pallet-planter. Milkweed is the host plant for Monarch and Queen butterflies, but they also provide nectar for other butterflies and insects, as well. Though we presently have 2 Monarchs still in chrysalis, and I spotted a Monarch egg on one of our other Milkweed plants; Monarch season doesn't generally start till around mid-April, here in Florida.
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Well, here she is! Our One-eyed Sphinx-moth emerged from cocoon very early this morning. This one has a special place in my heart. 3 weeks ago I found this camouflaged caterpillar in the wood-grove next to our house. Later that evening I received word that a loved one had passed away, which I later noted was in the same time-frame I'd found the caterpillar. 1.27.13, In the early evening, I stuck the stick she's on outside, in a potted plant so that she could leave when ready. She hung around throughout the next day, basking in the sun, and then by late evening she flew off. :-) ♥ We love and miss you, Katrina ♥... So I spotted these Ello-Sphinx moth-caterpillars (5), on my potted Wild Poinsettia 2 weeks ago. Last week I found the cocoon (pictured), under the desk in our living room. Apparently, it quantum-leaped into the house...(I'll leave that one alone). O.o ;-) I put the cocoon in our butterfly habitat so we could see it emerge. Well we missed it's emergence, but still was graced by it's beauty once we noticed it's presence. We'll be releasing it this evening. Beautiful!!! :-) My children and I went to our first meet-up for homeschoolers, today. We took 2 caterpillars, 3 chrysalis and 16 butterflies; for everyone to get a personal experience of holding and/or releasing a butterfly. I love sharing in the joy, excitement and wonder with everyone. I love hosting these! :-D ƸӜƷ Materials: Dyed from Acorn nuts, dried vine tendrils, Hemp cord necklace with lobster closure or adjustable, Handmade Oak bead. Non-toxic, hard coat, double cure-seal finish. My wishbones are thoroughly cleaned, dried and double-sanded, before I create with them. I will be making more of these as the wishbones become available. Background-inspiration of my wishbone Pendant/Necklace: There are many myths surrounding the wishbone. It was sometimes called the ‘merry thought’ in the British Isles. Also, Etruscans practiced a form of divination involving a hen pecking at grains of corn scattered about in a circle divided into sections with letters. A Ouija board of sorts - they would dry the bone by the fire and stroke it, not break it for there merry thought to manifest. Another myth is that a tug-o-war would start and the person with the ‘lucky break’ would have their merry thought come true. -http://loveartandfear.com/tag/where-did-the-wishbone-come-from/ Y-shaped…notice the resemblance to a Goblet...? In the Tarot, the suit of Cups is associated with matters of relationships and emotions. As you may expect, it’s also connected to the element of water, which is also a superb conductor. In some Tarot decks, you may find the Cups referred to as Goblets, Chalices or Cauldrons. Basically, if it's a vessel that can hold water, it's a Cup. This suit is where you'll find cards that relate to love and heartbreak, choices and decisions related to emotion, family situations, and anything else that connects to how we interact with the people in our lives. This includes how we relate to our self. The wishbone shape itself is a good luck symbol of life and fertility. When worn right-side up and in its whole form (unbroken), wishbone is a symbol of life; the fertile cup/chalice from which all life abundantly overflows from. A whole wishbone symbolizes completeness, and within this completeness one is bound to make choices from a more balanced position, thereby enriching and enhancing ones’ experiences in life. The wishbone is the “forked” bone from the fowl’s breast or better known as the “furcula”, so a “crossroads” pattern is present. There are always choices to be made, and we are in control of steering our life-path away from or towards our wishes, through our choices and decisions, or indecisions. Do you also recognize the upright placement of the wishbone as the shape of the letter ‘V’? Whether one denies their creative-power and life-force flow (dis-empowerment), or accepts (empowerment), is up to each of us, and ultimately determines whether we remain Victims or Victors of our own life. As we demystify and reclaim the purity of this symbol, may we be clear and present about what we choose/wish to create and experience; while letting it serve as a reminder of our own inherent, divine power. Since all life overflows from the feminine/receptive challis; wishes (creative-intentions), inevitably return from whence they came. What you wish and release, must return to you. This has nothing to do with superstition…this IS the balancing-mechanics of the Universe. By acknowledging and honoring the Divine-feminine within us all (men alike), we can accept our rightful-balance and the powerful knowing, that ultimately, each of us are our own ‘Wish Full-filler’! Why leave your life to the chances of luck?; when You can make choices through the high-heart, in love. Turkey ~ generosity, life-giver, sharer Michele... http/www.bbc.co.uk/news/10598926 _
Plants 'can think and remember' By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News The scientists discovered the "nervous systems" of Arabidopsis plants. Plants are able to "remember" and "react" to information contained in light, according to researchers. Plants, scientists say, transmit information about light intensity and quality from leaf to leaf in a very similar way to our own nervous systems. These "electro-chemical signals" are carried by cells that act as "nerves" of the plants. The researchers used fluorescence imaging to watch the plants respond In their experiment, the scientists showed that light shone on to one leaf caused the whole plant to respond. And the response, which took the form of light-induced chemical reactions in the leaves, continued in the dark. This showed, they said, that the plant "remembered" the information encoded in light. "We shone the light only on the bottom of the plant and we observed changes in the upper part," explained Professor Stanislaw Karpinski from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Poland, who led this research. He presented the findings at the Society for Experimental Biology's annual meeting in Prague, Czech Republic. "And the changes proceeded when the light was off... This was a complete surprise." In previous work, Professor Karpinski found that chemical signals could be passed throughout whole plants - allowing them to respond to and survive changes and stresses in their environment. But in this new study, he and his colleagues discovered that when light stimulated a chemical reaction in one leaf cell, this caused a "cascade" of events and that this was immediately signalled to the rest of the plant via a specific type of cell called a "bundle sheath cell". The scientists measured the electrical signals from these cells, which are present in every leaf. They likened the discovery to finding the plants' "nervous system". Thinking plants What was even more peculiar, Professor Karpinski said, was that the plants' responses changed depending on the colour of the light that was being shone on them. Plants perform a sort of biological light computation, using information contained in the light to immunise themselves against diseases ” Stanislaw Karpinski Warsaw University of Life Sciences. "There were characteristic [changes] for red, blue and white light," he explained. He suspected that the plants might use the information encoded in the light to stimulate protective chemical reactions. He and his colleagues examined this more closely by looking at the effect of different colours of light on the plants' immunity to disease. "When we shone the light for on the plant for one hour and then infected it [with a virus or with bacteria] 24 hours after that light exposure, it resisted the infection," he explained. "But when we infected the plant before shining the light, it could not build up resistance. "[So the plant] has a specific memory for the light which builds its immunity against pathogens, and it can adjust to varying light conditions." He said that plants used information encrypted in the light to immunise themselves against seasonal pathogens. "Every day or week of the season has… a characteristic light quality," Professor Karpinski explained. The images showed chemical reactions in leaves that were not exposed to light. "So the plants perform a sort of biological light computation, using information contained in the light to immunise themselves against diseases that are prevalent during that season." Professor Christine Foyer, a plant scientist from the University of Leeds, said the study "took our thinking one step forward". "Plants have to survive stresses, such as drought or cold, and live through it and keep growing," she told BBC News. "This requires an appraisal of the situation and an appropriate response - that's a form of intelligence. "What this study has done is link two signalling pathways together... and the electrical signalling pathway is incredibly rapid, so the whole plant could respond immediately to high [levels of] light." I have always had an understanding with and seem to be guided by the spiritual essence of butterflies. They appeared to just “show-up” in my life at critical moments, especially times of making pivotal life choices and changes.
The symbolism of butterflies is a very powerful force...allow yourself to embrace it. This process is more of a transmutation or transfiguration, because it is a complete...making over/make over. A butterfly has no resemblance that it was ever a caterpillar, because from caterpillar to butterfly, it's DNA is completely changed! However, both are required, the cycle can not be complete without the other. Like the butterfly, we all continually cycle through life, birth, death and rebirth. Some cycles (experiences), we repeat over and over until we have achieved the level of understanding, knowing and/or remembering we seek and other phases we may transmute through like a blink of the eyes. We may look back in bewilderment to who we once were, and yet, we could not have become who we've become, if we were never the former. In regards to 'Psyche' -The human soul, mind, or spirit. Synonyms: spirit - soul - mind - heart. When we transform our lives in any area or way, these transformations automatically change us on all levels of our existence. With self-understanding, we can choose to make our way with more flow, acceptance, and when appropriate, celebrate the inevitable changes that come; trusting that we shall emerge from our transitions as divinely-beautiful and brilliant as the butterfly. >i< |