Monday, November 19, 2018

Red Admiral Butterfly/Welcome South








"The natural world is something that gives us all hope.  The migration of butterflies is a wonderful natural history happening that is exciting- life giving."   

(When I was reading about butterfly migrations recently, I copied and pasted this but I must have been interrupted because I didn't write down who said it! We are in need of hope and things that are life giving. I think so anyway.) 

Richard and I saw the Red Admiral butterfly when we went for a walk this past Saturday on Nov. 17th!  I was surprised to see a butterfly but reading about it, it seems that the Red Admiral butterfly actually migrates to the southern states in late autumn and early winter. Isn't that wonderful? The one that we saw actually landed on my sleeve but Richard wasn't able to get his camera out quickly enough but when it landed on the trunk of the tree...well, you can see the photo above!


We have seen the Red Admiral butterfly before and Richard recognized it but he felt he must be wrong since he thought he was confusing it with his British butterflies.  Of course, he was  correct.  The Red Admiral is also in the British Isles! (Is it on the continent of Europe also? Yes! I just looked it up...the Red Admiral is "in temperate regions of North Africa, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, Hawaii, and the Caribbean."  Yes, my friends, I do know that Hawaii is a part of the USA but that does not mean that Hawaii has the same butterflies! In this case, they do.)

La, dee, dah- sounds like I have nothing to do except looking around for butterflies, doesn't it? I have been so busy lately and I find it very hard to get all the necessary things to do in my life, let alone to write on my blog or to read all the blogs that I like to read! I have had some distressing things happen to me recently but guess what...last week, a man walked up to me at the grocery store and asked me if I liked Southern gospel music. What do you think I said?  "Yes, I like it very much!".   He promptly handed me a CD of his own music, songs that he had written! He told us his name was Bud Atkinson and he lived right here in Conyers, Ga.  When we asked him how much should we give him, he said that he didn't want any money, that it was a gift, a part of his ministry.  Well.  
Thank you, God, I needed that.


(I couldn't find a song on YouTube by Bud Atkinson but how about "I'll Fly Away" ? Goes right along with my butterfly story too, don't you think?) 




How about you?  Have you ever had something nice happen to you and it meant a great deal because you had just gone through some rough times?  We need to always show kindness whenever we can, you never know what a difference it can make.




30 comments:

  1. Hi Kay - lovely butterfly - they always amaze don't they. The CD sounds interesting ... and how nice they're giving them away. I've written a few things on my blog where I've had help etc ... cheers and enjoy Thanksgiving ... Hilary

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    1. Hi Hilary! Happy Thanksgiving to you too. Cheers!

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  2. Although I'm not a southern gal or have a desire to really live down south I do envy the warmth and sun and nature you get while we are in the gray season up here! It's been colder than normal and very wet in the form of rain, ice and snow so seeing a butterfly would be a shocker for us! It's nice when something happens to make you smile. Even finding the quarter in the shopping cart at Aldi can make me smile! (I'm assuming you have an Aldi grocery store!) What's better is when we can be the ones to brighten someone else's day...even just a smile can make a difference. I hope you have many more kindnesses shown to you this week!

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    1. I found a quarter in the parking lot at work this week and you know it made me smile! Yes, if we feel blue, try to make someone else's day and it will make your feel better! Happy Thanksgiving to you, my friend!

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  3. I remember other posts of yours about the Admiral, and I am glad you saw them the other day. Sorry to hear distressing things have been happening to you. I do hope the good, nice and kind things outweigh the bad.

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    1. More of the good, nice and kind things! Thanks, Meike.
      Yes, I have talked of the Red Admiral before but we were excited to see it this weekend, so I had to post about it! :-) Love those butterflies.

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  4. The butterflies were numerous here just a month or so ago, now i'm not seeing them. Even these supposedly warmer climes are now too cold, i guess.

    What a blessing that the gentleman ministers to people with his music so generously!

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    1. A true blessing indeed. You always have the best way to express things! Thank you. x

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  5. How wonderful that you had the double blessing of that butterfly and a CD! I have found that there is always something to be thankful for !

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    1. Always something to be thankful for. Speaking of which, happy Thanksgiving! ;-)

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  6. Butterflies don't migrate to Hawaii, but we do see a few now and then. Very nice of that singer to give you his CD as part of his ministry.

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    1. I am not sure where the Red Admiral lives in Hawaii but apparently, it does live there. You should look out for it and let me know if you see it! Our photo is not that good (it was in bright sunlight) but you can see better photos on-line! Let me know!

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  7. We have Red Admirals here in Minnesota! They love the nettle plants at the edge of the lake. So wonderful to think that perhaps this is one of "ours"! It's really no surprise that butterflies are related to miracles and rebirth! Very sweet post on this Thanksgiving week!

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    1. Hey! Yes, I read that nettles are the host plant for Red Admirals! Thanks very much for your comment, so nice to hear from you! :-)

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  8. Beautiful header and news about your Red Admiral butterfly. It's been cold and rather dark around here. I am so sorry to hear distressing things have been happening to you, Kay, and glad that hope comes with the natural world and happiness from the kindness of a stranger. I found a little write up about Bud Atkinson at the bottom of this page - http://www.camainc.net/singerssongwriters.html. With all my heart I agree about the need for and blessing of kindness!

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    1. I was able to find a few things about him but not a whole lot. Thank you. We are in great need of kindness these days!

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  9. Glad you saw one too Kay. They might well have different habits to here. I was puzzled when you said watch out for grey squirrels a while ago but it turns out our greys are far less feisty than yours as there is less competition for food in UK forests so they are more docile as a result. No chipmunks or other nut munchers over here compared to USA trees.
    Also found out recently the USA did know about Peril Harbour attack in advance but info was not passed on quickly enough. Usual story of Republicans and Democrats not trusting each others sources or motives so sitting on it instead. Also an underestimation of Japan's first strike mentality. Churchill not passing info on theory may well have originated from USA itself after event to deflect attention and any criticism of not being on the ball fast enough. (thought I'd pass this new info on as I raised that W. C. theory a while ago- now maybe just a false rumour after all)

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    1. Glad you understand about the squirrels! They have gotten downright aggressive. Although you have to be feed the birds to know what squirrels are really like!
      Can't even remember what comment I must have left about Pearl Harbor but I really have read a bit of history over the years and that will sometimes creep into my daily conversation! No books of fiction for me! I wonder if we ever will know the truth behind what our governments have done. I find the current situation in our country so depressing I can hardly think about it.
      Thanks Bob, for paying attention to what I write! I appreciate it.

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  10. My goodness, I am always amazed at how these wild creatures get around. I can hardly believe that the Red Admiral can migrate all that distance, perhaps I misunderstood and it is an "introduced species" in either the US or the UK. Yes, that makes sense. It sounds as if the kindly deed came at a good time for you, I am sorry you have had some distressing events lately, and I hope that they resolve soon.

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    1. I think it must have been introduced here. I really can't find that much info about it and I am certainly no expert! Just amazing that this butterfly is all over the world.
      Thanks Jenny Woolf! By the way, I just watched the last episode of "The Durrells in Corfu" and I thought of you!

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  11. So sorry you have had some troubles but so nice you got the music.
    enjoy your thanksgiving
    Cathy

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    1. I will always have music, always!
      Happy Thanksgiving to you!

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  12. Butterflies are so small are frail yet some travel thousands of miles!
    Great powerful things. Living Butterfly collections are great places to visit but you have to watch you don't step on them.

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    1. Don't worry, I always watch out for wildlife! Butterflies amaze me. The Monarchs particularly interest me, since I see them only on their way to Mexico but I am fascinated by even our most common butterflies.

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  13. Hi, Kay! I'm always astounded that something as fragile as a butterfly migrates. The Red Admiral is beautiful. Thank you for sharing it. I'm sorry that you have been going through a rough patch ~ and your weather certainly hasn't helped. I've been busy, just like you, and I've been struggling to keep up with blogging ~ well, actually I haven't kept up, I continue to fall behind. I hope that you had a good Thanksgiving! Sending you a big hug!

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    1. Sending a big hug right back to you! Struggling, that about sums up things for me just now. Still, that man giving me that CD was like God tapping me on the shoulder to remind me that I am His and to keep the faith. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and will enjoy the anticipation of a happy Christmas. x

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  14. Love the Admiral butterfly photo and the autumn leaves at the top of your blog.

    I'm confused (which is nothing new; I'm 77 and it has been going on for a long time). You are being addressed as Hilary in some comments but you reply as Kay G.??? I should visit your blog more often as it is always does my heart good. Hope you HAD a happy Thanksgiving!

    I know metro Atlanta has grown by leaps and bounds, but in your years in the Conyers area did you ever run across a Jerry Ragsdale? I worked with him for years at AT&T in Sandy Springs (which isn't even there any more -- AT&T I mean, not Sandy Springs).

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    1. Hi! Thanks for your comment!
      Not sure what you are seeing but I am Kay.G and I do have a comment from Hillary, she used to live in Eastbourne in England but she lives out on the West coast of the USA now...like you, I get confused, it is either Oregon or Washington state! :-)
      Yes, Conyers has grown a lot but I have lived here for most of my life so I know a lot of people! I felt for sure that Jerry Ragsdale must be related to Cindy Ragsdale (I went to school with her) and I found the proof of this in an obituary...they lost their mother in Dec. of 2016. Lillian Ragsdale- such a beautiful lady, I have the link to the obituary for here...http://www.henryfuneral.com/obituaries/lillian-ragsdale/342/
      (Copy and paste that...if not just type her name in, and you should be able to find it. She was 90 years old when she passed.)
      What a wonderful lady! I never met her but I am proud to have graduated from high school with her daughter.

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    2. Thanks so much, Kay, for doing the legwork and finding Mrs. Ragsdale's obituary. How cool is that, that you knew Cindy and I knew Jerry and we wouldn't know one another except for the wonderful world of blogging? Very cool, that's what I think! Again, thank you. Small world. (I'm up in Cherokee County, if you were wondering, between Canton and Cumming.)

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    3. That is just amazing in my book! It pleases me no end! A small world, indeed I have an uncle who lives in Canton and my brother lives in Cumming! In the past, you might have run into my Uncle John at a store or something but not now, he is in his early 90's and has given up driving. Sensibly, he did so himself, knowing that he wasn't up to it anymore. I hope I have good sense like that if I make it to my 90's.

      P.S. I also went to school with the man who married Cindy, his name was Anthony, but nicknamed "Yogi". He and HIS family grew up around the corner from us and used to play with my brothers when they were little. Sadly, Anthony died a few years ago. I didn't say that, so I thought I would mention it.

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