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Title
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[Marjorie’s Garden]
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Date
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1919, June 21
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Creator
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Frank Shoemaker
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Description
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Frank Shoemaker - Omaha, Lincoln, and Nebraska Narratives
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Identifier
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321301
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Transcription
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2 Every observer knows how unswervingly “bilateral dynmetry,” where it exists, holds away in every form. If a butterfly at rest spreads or raises its wings, the movement is symmetrical for both wings – unless the butterfly is tilting, like Gilbert White’s turtle, to catch the ultimate beat of the sun’s rays. So when I saw a Red Admiral sitting on top of a post, with one wing in a seemly position and the other cocked at an unbelievable angle, as though it were hinged differently, I just stopped and gazed! The creature did not look right. I was sufficiently interested that I called Marjorie to see this odd butterfly. And it reminded her of something; so she took me around to the front of the house, where an Osage orange grows. A few feet from the ground a borer had injured the tree, and it was leaking sap down the bark. And along this moist strip sat numerous butterflies, drowning their troubles in drink! There were about two dozen butterflies visible about the place; my notes say “of four species,” but criminally I failed to name them. However, I remember the Red Admiral, and the angle-winged Grapta comma; I hazily recall the hackberry butterfly (Chlorippe celtis) as one of the convivial party; the fourth species I do not remember, now that I am recasting these notes at a much later date. About ten of them were lined up at the bar. An indefinite number were engaged in a hilarious air-dance through lights and shadows, occasionally pitching to the ground in a stupor, where they might be approached and touched without their taking flight. The fliers were so reckless and woozy that some of them bumped into or alighted upon us. Several were sobering up on neighboring flowers or leaves, with wings tilted awry, like the inebriate which I had first noticed. And presumably a far
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Rights
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To inquire about usage, please contact Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. These images are for educational use only. Not all images are available for publication.
