Butterfly Journal Part One


California Sister
This butterfly journal goes back a bit in time to summer before last when the above California Sister (Adelpha californica) showed up on my front doorstep. Somehow the arrival of this extraordinary butterfly marked a turning point in my attention, as up until then while I admired butterflies I knew little of them in actuality. And this would still be true. But I am learning. And this year, in particular, I am researching those that show up in my world. And I love it. Here are the few that I’ve been able to photograph and research a bit. Please join me in my explorations and we shall learn together!

Cabbage White
Apparently the most common butterfly in the country is the Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) and frankly, though sympathetic to those trying to grow large patches of food, specifically those that serve as host plants to the poor Cabbage White (you probably know them: cabbage, obviously, cauliflower, mustards, kale, etc.), I find this simple small white butterfly one of the most charming visitors in my garden. Why? Because they dance and they dance with each other. The word “flutter” was designed perfectly for the Cabbage White. They move so quickly and so erratically, signaling to any would-be predators they are not worth the bother it would take to chase them down, that they are inordinately hard to photograph. After dozens of frames of out of focus butterflies I at last was able to catch the little girl [two spots; males have one] above for a split second on a stand of lavender. She even kindly afforded me two, bless her heart.

Cabbage White
And while you cannot see in this reduced size I will swear to you that in the first photo it appears that she is actually turning her head and sizing me up. I really think that’s what I’m witnessing and it’s quite amazing, actually, to think that might be true.

But about the dancing. What I find most enchanting about the Cabbage Whites is their habit that in encountering another of their kind they immediately engage in a frivolous circular dance around each other, tumbling through space for some few seconds, and then disengaging and going their own way. And they do it all day long. Now I’m certain those in the know would point out to me that this is some kind of male-female interaction that results in birds and bees activity, but to date I’ve only witnessed the joy of the dance and I’m going with that, for that is what I see. Over and over again. And it is beauty. I’ll take it.

Cabbage Whites made their way to America from Europe in about 1860. By 1883 they are recorded in California though apparently it’s not known if they were introduced by the Spanish from the South or if they made their way from New England.

A word to the Cabbage White trolls: I have borne witness to the fact it is possible to grow large quantities of a particular vegetable organically without dumping chemicals on butterflies. How much can they eat? Grow enough for them. Ditto in your own small gardens. Perhaps by introducing nasturtium or other host plants they would opt for that rather than your veges. Just sayin’. Chemicals designed for the Cabbage White take out other beloveds, too. Thank you!

Variable Checkerspot

Once the butterfly bushes opened their beautiful blossoms my garden began attracting the Variable (or Chalcedon) Checkerspot (Euphydras chalcedona) which I had never seen in this garden before. The one above, sadly, was missing one of its four wings. It flew about unminding and landed gently in my large rosemary bush, allowing me this side view. Perfect.

Variable Checkerspot
Happily, a second one came the next day, attracted to the butterfly bush.

Now firmly on their circuit, apparently, a third came and landed in a second butterfly bush and remained perfectly still for at least five minutes, allowing me this view. Notice this one is darker, but I have read there might be some variation in darkness.

Variable Checkerspot

Undoubtedly the most beautiful of all the butterflies who come to my garden are the Western Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio rutulus) and, thankfully, they come daily in abundance. Here are some of my most special moments in their presence. Enjoy!

Western Tiger Swallowtail/See below!


Western Tiger Swallowtail/ditto

Western Tiger Swallowtail/yep

I loved this photo of the underside of just the tail of a Western Tiger Swallowtail. I find myself wondering about its evolutionary design, certain that to some possible predators that tail design would speak to something much larger and possibly more dangerous than the butterfly actually is. Smart!

There have been other butterflies in the garden, mostly skippers and blues. Can I manage yet to photograph them? No. Sadly. But I will rise to the occasion as I learn the nuances of learning to photograph them. I will. And I will share with you as I do.

Looking forward to your comments and hearing of your own butterfly experiences!

Love and winged blessings,
Kathryn xoxo

Important July footnote on the above post, which apparently was not complete! The comment below from Evelyn had me second guessing whether I had correctly ID’d the Western Tiger Swallowtail. I’m now thinking I did not, for two reasons. First, this photo, which I took at least two years ago:

See? Much more yellow. As if this were not enough to convince me the one in my current post is actually a Pale Tiger Swallowtail, a very yellow Western Tiger Swallowtail showed up in my butterfly bush yesterday. She didn’t stay long enough for me to photograph, but I got the point, and thank you for that visit!

Oh, and to fully wrap up this post, at last, a large California Sister Butterfly fluttered through my front garden the other day, quickly exiting and I thought, “Bookends. Nice!”

Book News: Dig-It Magazine will be reviewing Plant Whatever Brings You Joy: Blessed Wisdom from the Garden in their September issue. This week I have been adding some new photos to the slide show at Estrella Catarina. Also, the Kindle version of Plant Whatever Brings You Joy is now available on the German Amazon site! Link added on Estrella Catarina. Do stop by and enjoy! Thank you so much!

9/18/2014: This is for Robbin: Dance of the Tiger Swallowtails

Posted on July 4th, 2011 by Kathryn
Filed under: Animals | 18 Comments »

Book Notes: A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”
— John Muir

Donald Worster begins at the beginning. For John Muir the beginning was the High Street of Dunbar in the Scottish lowlands, born 21 April 1838. “He came forth into a world of dressed stone, cobbled streets, and somber controlling civilization, where everything green was carefully tucked away in back gardens.” Muir’s pragmatic father taught his children to grow vegetables in their back yard. Muir and his siblings each had his or her own small plot and learned the value of planting seeds and raising their own food. This, then, was their primary introduction to Nature.

In February 1849 young Muir’s life takes a drastic turn when his father announces to the family that they are moving the next day to America. Muir’s young life unfolds in Wisconsin as a pioneer, working long hours and day after day helping to establish a homestead on 160 acres his father purchases at $1.25 an acre.

Eventually Muir arrives at that point in every young male’s life where he reaches a crossroads. He must choose his own path or stay with the family. As you are probably inclined to know Muir opts for a life of adventure, of botany, of glacier study, of passion for nature and an unexpected destiny that has influenced the entire of America, resulting in the preservation of vast tracts of precious wildlands through the establishment of a national park system. His most important point of entry to this very large calling was most likely his discovery of Yosemite Valley.

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.”
~John Muir, The Yosemite (1912)

So within A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir one finds what one would expect to find in such a lofty undertaking, the story of the life of John Muir. What one is not expecting to find, however, are the many threads that influence the life of this extraordinary man. For Donald Worster is a master historian and a scholar extraordinaire. And with these gifts he has woven an inordinately complex context of the political and religious and societal influences which bore upon and spoke to and challenged John Muir. The poets and writers, as one might imagine, include Thoreau, Emerson and his own precious Scotsman, Robert Burns. What I’m certain Muir himself did not expect was that his life kept expanding into ever widening circles attracting and maintaining close connections with the Rich and Powerful of the Day. And therein lies his story.


Muir and Theodore Roosevelt at Glacier Point, Yosemite, 1903 (Library of Congress)

To try to summarize or create a synopsis of a nearly 500 page scholarly tome is not going to be the focus of this post. I say, read the book. What I must share, however, is that this book has had and continues to have a profound impact on me. I’m still digesting and I suspect I will be digesting over the next year. For on so many levels this book resonates with my core. Not simply as a gardening blogger; not simply as a nature lover or the pantheist I know myself to be. This is personal.

John Muir w/dog at home in Martinez, CA
John Muir and I share a deep connection with the San Francisco Bay Area. When I read of his living in San Francisco where he could “see Angel Island” I am immediately cast into my memories of living in Sausalito until my daughter was five, in a lovely small house overlooking the San Francisco Bay, and particularly Angel Island. Antonia and I both spent many years listening to the fog horns on that bay, taking delight in small boats traversing the bay, and watching that glistening precious small island as John Muir did. Muir Woods were part of our terrain. As Muir’s story unfolds in Contra Costa County, increasingly his widening circles embrace my own. Imagine my delight and surprise in the discovery that so very many of the writers, trees (the great sequoias), rivers, roads, valleys, creatures that inspired John Muir are the very same that have long touched and inspired me. I say this humbly and reverently. As Muir was inspired to write of what he had seen and experienced, particularly his own deep conviction that nature was inherently wise, are the very threads, however simple, that I have committed to harkening to myself in my own writings. The impulse lives on.

“Civilization has not gone very deep as yet, but we are making some slight progress heavenward.” ~John Muir

Worster writes in his epilogue:

“All those efforts as nature preservation, protecting the high and the mighty, the extraordinary and the ordinary, the obscure and the beloved, flow out of the worldview of liberal democracy. Modern societies have not only fought to preserve Nature in all her forms but also to open those preserved places to any and all human beings, regardless of class or ethnicity, far more so than our universities, country clubs, or gated communities. In that preservation effort they have acknowledged a moral obligation beyond the species. Americans, like other peoples, have followed Muir’s youthful trail of passion toward a more comprehensive egalitarianism in our relations with the earth.”

This is a mighty book, dear readers. It is vital, inspiring and an important documentary of our own history. All and any working in the Earth would be well advised to make time to read it.

Love and Nature blessings,
Kathryn xoxox

Good News! Oxford University Press has generously agreed to send along a copy of A Passion for Nature for a lucky winner! On Sunday July 2nd I will put the names of all those who have left (legitimate) comments on this post in a hat. Winner pulled from the hat will receive a copy of this marvelous book!

AND THE WINNER IS!!!!: Julie, a biology professor in Ohio and perfect recipient of this wonderful biography! Congratulations, Julie!!

Posted on June 25th, 2011 by Kathryn
Filed under: Book Notes | 13 Comments »

The Good Blackberry and the Bad Blackberry


For three summers now I’ve relished building a profitable relationship with a wild blackberry that insists on growing up through a nandina planted on a sunny side of the house. Fearful of what it might do should it get out of hand, I have religiously cut it back at the end of each season, and thus far it has been an abundant producer with only minor hazards. However, the slightest research into actually IDing this generous gift does put one on guard, for apparently it is the much “reviled” Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus), also known as Armenian blackberry, introduced to California (and adjoining states, to their great detriment and consternation) by none other than our beloved Luther Burbank. Ahem. Mr. Burbank apparently spotted an ad for the seeds in an “Indian seed catalogue” in 1885 and ordered them, planted them and proceeded to regale everyone with stories of their deliciousness and their enormous vigorous benefits. Guessing the ancestors of those who listened would like to give Mr. Burbank a piece of their mind along with a delicious piece of blackberry pie. It’s now regarded as one of the biggest invasives along the Pacific Northwest, with little chance of changing that, as anything that would do damage to them (short of digging them up, an overwhelming and thankless task) would also do damage, inevitably, to viable commercial blackberry cousins. The Good Ones.

And I have one of those, too. 🙂

My good and proper and well behaved blackberry

This guy, which I also love, came from Home Depot and the sign on it says it came from a place called Four Winds. I called Four Winds and the person I spoke with says it actually came from Oregon, one of the blackberry capitals of the world. Four Winds’ website says they sell three kinds of blackberries: Ollalie, Black Satin Blackberry and Triple Crown Blackberry and no amount of research led me to any conclusions which one I now own and care for and enjoy. So I’ll stick with calling it The Good One.

It’s very delicious. It has only minimal prickles. (You are not supposed to call the wicked sticky things thorns in blackberry land, even though apparently the blackberry is related to the rose.) And I can tell it won’t grow crazily out of control, though it does have a large new cane. However I am also noticing that while I can still lay claim to a small number of early blackberries each day, I don’t see any flowers (mid-June), so I’m guessing the fruiting season is quite limited. And meanwhile….(ta da!):

My Bad Boy, the Himalayan blackberry (and p.s., no one in California calls this Armenian)

See the nandina flowers growing among my fruity flowers? Yep. It’s a wild affair, I’ll tell ya’.

Lovely blackberry flowers

One of the canes is reaching onto the front porch. I’m glad, actually, as once a cane touches the ground it can use it to spread. Not much chance on cement. 🙂 Not stopping a friendly bee who came by to help with pollination, however.

Contrary to my Good and Proper Blackberry, my Naughty Himalayan is bursting with hundreds of flowers and each one will reliably produce a delicious blackberry. I’m thinking of the many fantastic healthy cool scrumptious smoothies I made last summer. Each morning I would go out and harvest just enough for a smoothie or two, and give thanks for the handful of blessings that renegade vine produced, that became my breakfast. Thank you. Thank you. So grateful. And here’s some of what it provided me:

Nutrients in raw blackberries
Nutrient Value per 100 grams % Daily Value
Energy 43 kcal
Fiber, total dietary 5.3 g 21%
Sugars, total 4.9 g
Calcium, Ca 29 mg 3%
Magnesium, Mg 20 mg 5%
Manganese, Mn 0.6 mg 32%
Copper, Cu 0.2 mg 8%
Potassium, K 162 mg 5%
Sodium, Na 1 mg 0%
Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid 21 mg 35%
Vitamin A, IU 214 IU 4%
Vitamin K, 25%
Folic acid, 9%
Carotene, beta
Lutein + zeaxanthin

You can imagine my joy!

Love and gardening blessings,
Kathryn xoxoo

Book Notes: A review of Plant Whatever Brings You Joy will appear in July/August issue of California Country. Meanwhile, the Dutch issue of Ode Magazine arrived with the translated excerpt from my book and that was quite a thrill! I am also delighted to let folks know that both the wonderful Mendocino Art Center and much loved Mrs. Dalloway’s in Berkeley are making the book available! Thank you!

Posted on June 17th, 2011 by Kathryn
Filed under: Plants | 14 Comments »

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