Birds, butterflies, and a postcard

[asakiyume]

I was thinking just yesterday that maybe this year we'd have no orioles, because I hadn't heard any, and then! I heard one. And then! I saw one. So I'm happy. And it wasn't only an oriole I saw today. I also saw this lovely warbler, which I discovered is called a magnolia warbler. (I have no magnolias. He was flitting between lilacs and apple blossoms.)

Photo by Gregory S. Dysart


Meanwhile, amaebi told me that fritillary butterflies are called that because the Latin word for dice box is "fritillaria," and the butterflies' markings look like the pips on a die. So then it got me thinking that maybe fritillary butterflies are enthusiastic gamblers:



The third thing is a postcard, but I need to explain. sovay recently talked about the film The Moon-Spinners, in which a jewel thief gets away at the end. He apparently promises to send the protagonist "a picture postcard from the Kara Bugaz." This intrigued me. Where was Kara Bugaz? It turns out to be a lake in present-day Turkmenistan that at one point in the recent past dried up entirely, sending salt-storms across the nearby land, poisoning fields. Whoa to the whoath, right? (Now it has water in it again.)

Well, I wanted to create the postcard that jewel thief Tony sends to protagonist Nikky. So here it is! The image comes from the coastal city of Garabogaz. The message is written in a font called "Byron," created based on the handwriting of, yup, Lord Byron.**





**It's hard to read, though. It says, "Dear Nikky, I promised you a picture postcard from Kara Bugaz. Is this woman smelting something? If not the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, then maybe its knives and daggers. Alas, she's probably stoking the fires merely to bake bread. Love from your favorite jewel thief, Tony."

Comments

[pameladean]

Hooray, oriole!

I love the postcard.

There's a flowering bulb called fritillary as well. It looks checkered, so also a little like a dice-box, I guess. I always hope to see a fritillary butterfly on a fritillary flower, but their seasons don't match up well enough.

P.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Yes, amaebi told me about the flower! I'd never seen it. I suppose a triple win would be to play a dice game in a garden of fritillaries while some (seasonally messed up) fritillaries flitted about.

[oiktirmos.livejournal.com]

This entry is filled with associations for me – at least three - smelting, bird photos (see my recent photos), and the third you can guess.

[oiktirmos.livejournal.com]

Your butterflies are great! Love the gambling butterflies.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Life as a butterfly is a gamble :-)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Yes amazing about David Sibley! I somehow thought he was a figure from the past, like Audubon--but no!

[pinkroo.livejournal.com]

just delightful. All of it :)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed!

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I love that post card.

And the beautiful warbler!

And the butterflies!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I loved the warbler ^_^ And I had fun making the postcard and the doodle!

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

This is so wonderfully imaginative I cannot EVEN. BWEE.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Speaking of I cannot EVEN--thank you!!! For an unexpected and delightful mother's day card? Have I told you recently how much I love your art? You make the world a more joyful place ♥

[sovay]

Well, I wanted to create the postcard that jewel thief Tony sends to protagonist Nikky. So here it is!

HOORAY!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

If I had read the book I could have done more! Like put in plot references. But all the same, it was a fun way to spend some time--thanks for the inspiration!

[sovay]

If I had read the book I could have done more!

If you read it, I hope you like it! The postcard is still wonderful. Like I wrote: now the story has a real ending. Wherever Tony is these days . . .

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

It has just struck me that the post card states, "Made in U.S.A.." And of course it bears no stamp or cancellation.

Oh, Tony, where are you really?

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Suuuuch a trickster.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Wonderful butterflies! :D

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Butterflies are ready to go double or nothing :-)

[yamamanama.livejournal.com]

The bird is pretty and I love the drawing of the fritillaries.

There's a Cocteau Twins song called Great Spangled Fritillary. My friend and I didn't know the etymology and he once used frittle as a verb.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I think "frittle" is an excellent potential word. Did he use it like "fritter," as in "fritter your time away"? As ethelmay below says, "fritilling their money away."

[yamamanama.livejournal.com]

Chris: (speaking of dreams, I dreamt last night I was at bsc and you let loose hundreds of butterflies in the cafeteria)
Chris: (you need to stop doing that)
me: that would be cool if I did
Chris: that it would.
Chris: there were evil butterflies though
me: soul-eating ones? Or mere okypetes?
Chris: the kind that frittle frittle frittle into your ears and hair

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

terrifying butterflies, Chris!

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

I love the idea that magnolia has its own special warbler... It's so pretty when it's in flower, it certainly deserves one.

Fritillary butterflies are so incredibly rare here - I've only caught fleeting glimpses of them on two occasions. But now I know where the name comes from, next time I go fritillary hunting I shall take some dice with me and see if that attracts them!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

And if you see one, you have to shake the dice and say, "What are the odds??" (Or maybe that's what you need to say in advance in order to lure one)

Re: warblers, I wasn't aware until recently of the diversity of species we get around here. They're all beautiful.

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

Fritilling away their money. C'mon, baby, caterpillar needs new shoes. And man, is that a lotta shoes.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I do like "frittle" as a verb. After frittling their money away, they're force to frittle from friend to friend, looking for some spare cash and a place to spend the night.

And now I want to draw a fully shod caterpillar.

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

I told my daughter E. about this, and she said, "So, does that mean I can call anything spotty 'fritillated'?" Sounds like a plan to me.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Sounds like one to me, too! I hear frittilated dresses (http://www.lustyfashion.com/scenic-polka-dot-dresses-good-for-seasonal-wardrobe/polka-dot-prom-dress-2016/) are in style this year...

[ethelmay.livejournal.com]

That one's fritillated AND frilled! Such frippery.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

also, fritillary caterpillars look pretty terrifying. Here's the Gulf fritillary caterpillar:

[xjenavivex.livejournal.com]

Thinking of you today

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I was thinking of you too, yesterday--oddly enough, it was while I was watching a livestream of the Nebula awards.