Steady On

Among dozens of Pipevine and Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, this battered butterfly worked flower after flower, content to pull strength through its proboscis and then move on, while the others -- fully winged and tailed, rich in bright color -- hustled and bustled from bloom to bloom, as if always looking for the motherlode on a fast track to success.

Think on this old specimen, not long for this world, and on your grand- or great-grand-relative who, despite the losses that life still delivers, soldiers on, and you will know why for me this is the most beautiful in a garden full of fluttering flyers.