In keeping with positive intentions and more of that anticipatory vorfreude for this new year, something so strange and wonderful happened!

I had been working in the garden — in my zone of bliss — raking leaves from the ash tree as it finished abscission during last week’s rainy and windy weather. It’s a mystery to me how and when the leaves fall; last year it was before Thanksgiving and this year was much later.

Read about abscission here: https://enchantedseashells.com/2020/11/20/the-process-of-abscission/

When I came inside to freshen my lemony water, I saw what I thought was a piece of paper stuck to the kitchen window, but upon further examination, it was a yellow butterfly!

A yellow butterfly!

I have absolutely no idea how it came to be in the house. I never leave the screen door open ‘cos the rats and squirrels are my constant arch nemeses.

Isn’t this magical? I think so…

I was able to gently coax her into a small plastic container and set her free on the deck. With a joyful heart, I carefully watched her flutter away back to from wherever she came. There was no harm done to her delicate wings.

I wonder if it’s the same butterfly I saw a while ago…that would be SUPER cool.

According to “World of Feng Shui,” a butterfly in the home is always a good omen but…

Maryland lore believes that a butterfly that enters the home and flies around someone foretells one’s death or the death of someone one knows, yet the same sign in Louisiana means that the person will have good luck.

In Japan, they treat a butterfly that enters the home kindly, as the soul of a loved relative or friend might reside in the butterfly and has come to visit them. 

I’m going with the good luck and visit from my mom theories. In either case, I am grateful for the visit.