Yesterday was the first official day of autumn, but it’s still Indian Summer here, and likely will be for a while yet. Highs in the 80s, abundant sunshine, the creatures and spirits of the warmer months still largely with us, still doing their work.
At breakfast yesterday, butterflies fluttered across my plate, right under my fork as I ate. Honeybees remain busy, trying to pollinate as much as possible before the cold temperatures tells them their generation’s work is done. Dragonflies and damselflies still dart and dash from flower to puddle and back again, filling in the gaps left by the bees’ seasonally-decreasing numbers.
And, of course, despite the turns of an earth around a slowly-waning sun, flowers, acres of them, dance in full regalia. Sunflower season is ending a bit early this year, but the hardy wild ones in the fields persist, as do the daisies and tiny purple asters. Yellow chamisa and purple sage blanket the landscape, appliquéd here and there by bundles of delicate stalks tipped in white — cow parsnips.
Meanwhile, the other plants have begun to stage their annual celebration, a gathering in a riot of color. Two weeks ago, there appeared the slightest hint of yellow among the trees up on the mountainside. By last week, there were small patches of gold; over the weekend, they turned to large patches, now edged in russet shades. The vines on the fence are now scarlet, and the weeping willows are touched with golden strands of light.
It’s been getting down into the low forties occasionally for more than a month. They’re predicting rain later in the week, with any luck, more than the violently beautiful 15-minute storm of this morning. And by week’s end, highs are no longer supposed to reach seventy. We’ll see.
Either way, it makes the butterfly and honeybee and dragonfly sightings all the more welcome, knowing that we managed to attract them yet one more year, and they were able to do their work of pollination before the snows come. It’ll be up to us to do our work next year as winter wanes, to induce them to return yet again.
In the meantime, Wings’s work serves as a reminder to honor these tiny fragile spirits of summer, little beings that work so hard for the duration of their short lives, creating a better, more balanced world for the rest of us who share it with them. It’s the inspiration for the piece featured in the photo above, in a very vintage style that pays homage to an ancient traditional spirit. From its description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
Pollination
A delicately-patterned skimmer spreads his paired wings, an overlay atop this old-style sterling silver ingot pendant. To his right, a single water drop is solidified in a cobalt blue bit of denim lapis; to his left, the tiny blossom he pollinates industriously. The vintage-style medallion hangs from an equally vintage-style multi-strand necklace, six strands of tiny matched tube beads in red, white, and black, the blue of the lapis cabochon providing the traditional fourth shade. Strand of beads 17″ long including findings; pendant 1.5″ long (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; denim lapis; traditional tube beads
$325 + shipping, handling, and insurance
It’s a way to keep the beauty, energy, industry, and inspiration of the summer spirits close all year around.
~ Aji
