Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Hurt No Living Thing

I am always moved to tears (such a sap I am) to see wild creatures put trust into my girls.


This is a newly emerged Black Swallowtail that over-wintered in her chrysalis on our front porch. She let the girls gently hold her while she dried her wings. We were so entranced by her beauty!


This baby praying mantis had no worries with the girls holding her as well. She crawled all over their hands and arms with curiosity before making her leap into our herb garden.




This beautiful bumble let the girls pet her while she was harvesting nectar, she also didn't seem to mind me and my camera just inches away. Have you ever pet a bumblebee? It's better to try this when they are at rest however, not busy harvesting. Softly and gently use your pinky finger to pet this lovely creature and the bumble will reward you with a touch and no sting.




I will leave you with my favorite poem. It's a creed that my girls and I passionately live by.

Hurt no living thing
Ladybird nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing,
Nor cricket chirping cheerily,
Nor grasshopper, so light of leap,
Nor dancing gnat,
Nor beetle fat,
Nor harmless worms that creep

-Christina Rossetti


I have to admit though...when I see a tick climbing up one of my girl's legs, I am known to flush it. I feel incredibly guilty, but I still flush it! ;)

37 comments:

kyndale said...

so love these pictures! A baby praying mantis! So small! I love your previous post about making the aged paper. We are planning on making some journals this summer and I will try it out. It looks like so much fun.

Christine said...

I was just looking for that poem the other day and couldn't find it. i love it. so much. thanks : )

i love teeny tiny creature myself!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/notcatherinezeta/sets/72157605078087035/
i always feel so privelaged that they let me hold them!

Pussnae said...

I love that poem. I think I will make a poster of it-a fun project to do with the kids. Thanks for the inspiration!

Sara said...

This is a beautiful post. What pleasures there are when we aim to just enjoy all creatures.. .and not harm them.

Anonymous said...

How?? Did you get that gorgeous butterfly to make it's home on your porch? Amazing!

I have no mercy for mosquitoes and angry hornets/wasps in my yard.

Toni said...

beautiful butterfly how amazing it is that she dried herself off on your daughters sleeves so sweet.

Love the poem too, how fitting.

Jessica said...

I love baby praying mantes. Are they not adorable?

Oh--and fat, fuzzy bumbles. I just love them. I used to play with them when I was little--they are so sweet and gentle, aren't they?

Beautiful photos!

denise said...

beautiful! we love finding all of the creatures living in our yard too. our neighbors think we are all nuts...we talk to birds, chipmunks, rabbits, even the vole. we pet insects, follow bumblebees, and even watch wasps drink from our birdbath before flying off to clean our cabbages for us. :)

i love your photos! we have a praying mantis egg sack on our windowsill in a bag - we can't wait for them to hatch so we can release them into our garden and watch them all summer! woo hoo!

:)

Unknown said...

Bumbles really scare me in person, but they look so sweet on film.

Anet said...

Beautiful butterfly!

dongdong said...

I love that the animals let your girls touch them and to think, a bumble bee! Wow!

Melanie said...

what an exsquisite looking butterfly! And a baby praying mantis? You know I have never seen a baby one.

Melissa said...

That poem hung on the wall in my first classroom-- we sang the words every time we escorted bugs (except cockroaches, which I do not escort) outside. Beautiful photos!

Jeannette said...

Lovely post, beautiful pictures and WOW...brave girls. To pet a bumblebee! I really don´t kill them but I would never, ever pet them. Too scared to get stung. You are my little heroes! ;)
Have a great day, Jeannette

Unknown said...

this is so lovely. i know exactly what you mean...natalie is growing caterpillars and i just removed them to put them into their tent for when the emerge from their cocoons...

Joy said...

My daughter's been growing a butterfly at school and taking copious notes. She was finally able to hold it the other day and was thrilled beyond belief so I understand your sentiment. I love the poem. :)

renee @ FIMBY said...

love, love, love this post. newly emerged butterflies are just the most amazing things

Unknown said...

i think you and i should do a trade someday...just a thought! :)

SE'LAH... said...

beautiful post.

the swallowtail is just gorgeous

Antoinette said...

lovely pictures, and I've always loved that Rosetti poem. It's magical and moving to see children being so gentle with such fragile little creatures.

Anne said...

Beautiful Photos..

We have a big bees over down here called a Teddy Bear Bees. They look similar to your Bumble Bee.
The butterfly is so pretty thanks for sharing...:)

jane said...

i agree. have a great day lisa! besos-jane

nettlejuice said...

Pet a bumblebee! I've never tried that, but I will now.

The Rosetti poem is one of our favorites too!

Thank you for your beautiful posts about respecting nature.

Willo said...

Once again you have truly touched me Lisa. I love the idea of petting a bumble bee! What an amazing way to teach your kids not to be afraid!

We found a friendly salamander yesterday and really enjoyed our time with him.

Tara said...

I'm a big sap too when it comes to kids and nature's critters.

They are perfect partners.

dawn klinge said...

Such a sweet post! No, I've never tried to pet a bumblebee, but have always wanted to...they look so soft.

Dim Sum, Bagels, and Crawfish said...

Beautiful, beautiful post. I am also a sap for creatures and kids but I'm with you on the ticks (and mosquitoes, too). I am going to carry those images of the Swallowtail and the Praying Mantis in my head and heart all day today. Thank you.

sunnymama said...

What a delightful post! The butterfly is beautiful, and how wonderful to hold her while she dried her wings. I would so like to pet a bumble bee, I've never even considered doing that but I'm going to try now :)

karen m. said...

Lovely post! Your girls are beautiful and so brave. We have aggressive carpenter bees which chase us from our yard. No thoughts of touching those. Thank you for your sweet reminder to observe, respect, and care.

affectioknit said...

So pretty and so sweet!!!

sarah in the woods said...

I found a baby praying mantis the other day, but my camera battery had just died, so no picture. I had a good time just watching though.

Shona Leah said...

that is beautiful and so sweet too!
I've been calling Maya the bee whisperer this spring b/c she is able to pet bees without being stung.

Kelly said...

Beautiful post and beautiful pictures. How we would love to admire such an exquisite butterfly so new to the world like that. I am going to stroke a bumblebee and then encourage the children to try. One of my boys is a bit wary of them as he was stung by a bumblebee when one somehow managed to fly into his wellington boot (while he was wearing it) one day. Also loved your paper making project!

Fairly Odd Mother said...

Love those photos! I am a sap too---even catching bees & spiders that appear indoors & freeing them outside.

My favorite are the big furry orange caterpillars that I find creeping down my walkway sometimes. I love how they curl into a ball in my hand when I pick them up.

Lisa said...

Jumbles, We grow a lot of parsley, fennel and dill over the summer. The black swallows lay their eggs on these plants. We dig up the plants with a lot of caterpillars on it and plant it into an aquarium that we keep on the porch. Then we watch mother nature do her magic. Last year we released 25 healthy wild swallowtails.....it was beautiful. 3 overwintered and emerged this week.

Anne, I'm going to look up Teddy Bear Bees, they sound so cute!

Jessica, yes, bumbles really are such gentle creatures. All they want is to be left alone to do their job.

Karen, Yes carpenters are very aggressive, but full of fluff. Those are actually the males and they don't have stingers.

Melissa, I too had that poster on my wall for every classroom I ever taught in. Such an important thing to learn.

Thanks for all of the wonderful comments everybody! -Lisa :)

Tammy said...

Oh, this is so true and beautiful. I just love your blog...

Dawn said...

Very sweet~

Enjoying the posts, as usual!

:)