“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”

~Rabindranath Tagore

We’ve seen a lot of these beautiful pollinators in our garden lately.  Last year, we only had a few, rare encounters with any butterflies at all in the garden.  This year, thanks to the addition of a couple of lantana and a butterfly bush, we seem to have become more popular.

This particular butterfly has been showing up rather frequently.  In the early, early morning, when the dew is still on the grass, they seem to be quite weak, struggling along low to the ground, resting often, and moving rather slowly — which is why I managed to get any of these photos at all.

Some of the shots are blurry because at that hour it’s a low-light situation.  My camera doesn’t do low light.  I could have used the flash, but I wanted to capture the colors as accurately as possible.

Do you know this butterfly?

Of course, I feel like I’ve gotten to know a few of them now, in short, fluttery encounters.  But the identity of this butterfly is still a mystery to me.  His upper wing is mostly black, with a lovely blue ombre that ends in a decorative scallop pattern all around the edge.  The first photo gives a good idea.

Here’s what the underside of the wing looks like.  Also black, but with a heavenly brown glow and accents and eyespots of brick and rust, with white polka dots all around the wingtips.

So I would like your help to identify which butterfly this is.  If you know, or think you know, please enlighten me in the comments section.  I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

I also have another request, one I hope will be good news to some of you.

The Enchanted Earth is opening its virtual doors to guest posters.  Specifically what I’m looking for are your personal anecdotes, poems, ah-ha moments, stories, photo essays, discoveries, musings, art, freewrites, creative bits and pieces, all inspired by the garden, Nature, or the Earth.

I’m sure you could probably guess, if you have even a cursory familiarity with this blog, that what is most important to me is renewing our connection to the Earth.  I think it’s an essential component of humanity’s path forward that we recognize our interdependence with all living things — and I don’t mean an intellectual recognition, but a deep-down, loving, joyful knowing.  Sustainability will not be achieved by growing ever more complacent about and distant from this Earth that sustains us.

Whenever I see sustainability and green living discussed, it’s typically from a perspective of what we need to do, how we need to make changes to our lifestyles.  But this Doing approach has never worked for me in making changes in my own life.  I’ve only been able to make lasting change when I alter my state of Being.  If I’m changed on the inside, if who I am and what is important to me are fundamentally altered, then I will automatically do things differently.  Period.  And then all those how-to articles will be relevant and useful to me, and my to-do lists stand a chance of getting done.

I think the reconnection to Nature is happening — and happening rapidly, all around us.  But I sometimes think the emphasis on how many rain barrels we’ve installed and whether or not we compost is taking our attention away from a fundamental shift that needs to take place in our minds and hearts.

Reestablishing that bond with the Earth is essential if we want to be composting not just when it’s trendy (who’d have thought it?), but 20 years down the line — when it has become a normal part of who we are as a people.  One day everyone in our society will be able to say, with all honesty, “We are people who do not waste, and who practice recycling the way Mother Nature does it, with everyday loving care.”

Won’t it be wonderful?

And that’s what I want to share here at The Enchanted Earth.  I want to be a witness to what is happening at a very deep level as we wake up and recognize our connection and feel the joy of it, all over again.  We human beings are going through a profound metamorphosis, just like the ones the butterflies experience every spring.  It’s a beautiful thing — even if the process is sometimes a bit scary or uncertain.

Posts may be up to a thousand words, in prose or verse, made of mostly pictures, or with none at all.  I’m open to drawings and sketches as visuals, as well.  Don’t feel you need to stick to my habitual format or copy my style.   The more creative and original, the better, and the more you are yourself, with your own inimitable style, the more I will enjoy your post.  The idea is for you to sound like you, and not like me.

I do not mind if you recycle or tweak an old blog post, as long as it’s more than six months old and is a beautiful fit for the theme of connection with Nature.

I’m not sure how many submissions to expect, and so I cannot yet estimate a schedule for guest posting.  Ideally, I’d like to share about one a week, but that may take time to get started.  I’ll try and respond to all submissions within two weeks — unless I get a huge, slushpile-like quantity, in which case I’ll update you on how it’s progressing.

Send all submissions to meredith<at>theenchantedearth.com with “Guest Post TEE” in the subject line.  (Obviously, replace the “<at>” with an “@”.)

I prefer the text to be embedded in the body of the e-mail.  For photographs, you may send attachments or direct me to the URL where I can see the shots on flickr or photobucket or another service.

I can’t wait to see what you send!

Namasté, y’all.

p.s. Please share this call for submissions with your friends and bloggers whose words you like to read, or whose artwork you enjoy.

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