Saving a Butterfly

October 2013

It was such a nice warm day yesterday.  We were sitting out on the porch in the sun, and it felt so good to be warmed by the sun's rays....solar heat at its best. 
He was just a common butterfly, orange in color, and I have seen them during the summer and fall, but for some reason he was in our area and he began to check out my pink flowered flip flops. His little "nectar getter" just tried and tried to get some nectar out of that piece of rubber. We continued to watch him as he floated around us...landing on our hands and clothes...then back to the shoes.

It is dry here, and there are no flowers, just cedar pollen.  I really don't think they sip on cedar.  Well, I began to feel sorry for the little bugger. I decided to see if he would like something to eat.  All I could find was some sugar water that were on the pears I canned last fall.  So I poured a very small amount onto a canning lid and outside I went.  I guess he became a little frightened with this woman who was trying to stick a lid under him and off he flew...to land just about 10 feet away.  When I got over to him, his wings were flat,  his little " nectar getter" was limp...he looked like he was on his last leg. I managed to get him to crawl onto my hand and I took him back to my chair...and I put the syrup on my finger..after a few minutes I had syrup on more than a finger, and his little "nectar getter" was still limp and straight, but I had it laying in the nectar. I could not see if him getting a drink.....and then his wings raised up, he walked along my finger and the "nectar getter was moving around, but still straight.  Then it curled and started he "fishing" for some sugar water.  It was amazing! He revived and flew off...I would like to think he found a good tail wind and headed for the coast.