Ep 120. Blessing Moth & Bottle Trees

As the legend goes, if you see a Clymene Moth, consider it a gift, as you will have a blessing coming forward in your life, as did I. And so they are known as Blessing Moths.
 
 In this episode, I share the story of saying goodbye to a dear friend and the magical moment of coming upon a Blessing Moth. Plus, a reflection on the origin of Bottle Trees.
 
 
Related Stories and Helpful Links   
 
 Moth Identification. Com – Clymene Moth (Haploa clymene)

ButterfliesandMoths.org

About Bottle Trees

Link to the story featuring my friend Elsa – Fall is Not Goodbye

Moths are Beautiful Too
 
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I'd love to hear about your garden and nature stories. And your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. Thanks so much for tuning in.
You can Follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook and Instagram #MaryElaineStone
Episode web page —Garden Dilemmas Podcast Page
Thank you for sharing the Garden of Life,
Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
                    AskMaryStone.com

More about the Podcast and Column:

Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
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Transcript

 Ep 120 Blessing Moth and Bottle Trees

Sat, Aug 05, 2023 6:28PM • 10:53

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

garden, blessing moth, bottles, life, bella, trees, walking, dog, elsa, speak, porch, learned, heat, chicory, good, plants, wings, blue, dilemmas, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration

SPEAKERS

Mary Stone

Mary Stone  00:00

Hello fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens, it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about. 

Mary Stone  00:26

Hello there, it's Mary Stone speaking to you from a different porch. I'm here in Lago Vista, Texas, and it's going to heat up to 103 degrees today. It’s been very challenging for a number of reasons, certainly the heat is on. And another anomaly. There is the Sahara dust storms. I had not known about this, but I was struggling when I was out walking amongst the neighborhood, which is adjacent to Lake Travis. It's very beautiful and so fun to look at the landscapes that are different here. And I learned about these dust particles. So there you go. In the northeast, we endured the smoke from the Canadian fires. And apparently, periodically, the sands from the Sahara Desert find their way here. Nature is fascinating and sometimes very sad, isn't it? 

Mary Stone  01:19

Anyway, I am here because a dear friend of mine passed away on Saturday, I was able to be by Gene's side, boy, I'm telling you it was quite a beautiful moment. The greeting that he gave me and though he couldn't speak very strongly, I could tell he was thrilled that I was with him. He is the life partner of my friend Elsa, we've spoken about in a previous story titled, Fall is not goodbye. I'll put a link in the show notes. So, they've been family to me for 40 years, so hard to believe. And before I left to come here, there was a magical moment, which I look forward to sharing. But before we get to that, I want to thank those of you that wrote back about our last chat. Bachelor buttons versus Chicory Look-alikes. Kate, who introduced me to the Chicory Fairy Poem, said that she will try to find out the name of the author. And if she does, I will certainly share that with you.

Mary Stone  02:19

 So, I mentioned the magical moment before I left, I was taking Jolee out, and it was evening. And of course, moths are out in the evening. I've always said that they are butterflies who like to party at night because they pollinate our plants, at nighttime. And so there was a moth that landed at my feet. And it was cream colored with a black marking on its wings. That was in the shape of a cross. And, of course, I had my iPhone, and I grabbed a photo of it, and just marveled over it. I have never seen one like that. And as I was walking back with Jolee, of course, she scared it off, and I tried to get a picture of it in flight. 

Mary Stone  03:00

So the next morning, I walked Jolee over the bridge as I was preparing to get to the airport. And would you believe that that moth was there again, sitting restfully on a stick, and a patch of moss, so lovely. So,I was able to get a better picture of it. Of course, there's all these gadgets that you can look up animals and plants and identify them. And I did identify the moth Clymene moth (Haploa clymene) which is in the tiger moth sub family.  And as I researched further, I found out that some people call it the Blessing Moth because of the beautiful sign of the cross on its wings when they are folded. It's a cream color, as I've mentioned, and it's just - I don't know, so beautiful and stunning. There'll be a picture in the garden dilemmas website. And of course, I will put a link in the show notes. 

Mary Stone  03:52

So as the story goes, if you see one of them consider it a blessing, and that you will have a blessing coming forward in your life. And certainly, it was a blessing to make it here in time to be with Gene. And the most precious moment was while he couldn't speak strongly, he was able to keep his hands around my face. And I asked him if he was afraid, and he nodded his head no. So, I knew he was ready. It was a special moment. Part of life is the ending of life, so don't ever fear it. 

Mary Stone  04:27

Anyway, I want to share a little bit more about Clymene moth (Haploa). It lives in eastern North America in forests and wetlands and fields, and their predators are birds as you would expect. And of course, they enjoy the nectar from flowers. Host plants include eupatorium, oak, peach and Willow. What I thought was interesting was that I saw it in the evening, and I saw it in the day. And it is true that you can see them both day and night even though it's the first time I'd ever seen any of them around. And it has immense spiritual symbolism. In Moth Identification.com. I read that the name Clymene moth holds great significance in Greek mythology, as it wasn't the name of many people. Moreover, the wings form a pattern similar to the Holy Cross. Thus, seeing these moths is considered a good omen and a blessing indeed.

Mary Stone  05:24

 So I shared the photo with the wonderful neighbors who have been tending to Gene and his dog Bella. Bella was dropped into their garage when they had lost their dog, KC. And that was about a year before Elsa passed away. And it really was something that Gene didn't think was a good idea based on Elsa's health and their age. But they kept the dog on and they have a lovely back yard that is fenced in. And they had their dog Rosie, who was very old at the time that Bella arrived. And so, they had a life together. But Bella was really sequestered in the yard and in the house when it was too hot. And Gene really never bonded with her, although he took good care of her and played ball incessantly. It was such a delight to be part of the meet and greet when Tim and Lisa came to see if Bella was a good fit for their family. Oh my gosh, it was so fun to see how the two dogs got along, and just the happiness unfolding that they each found each other, and they've been sending some updated photographs and videos. And I'll put a few photos in the column as well. I'm just grateful for their kindness in taking on Bella. She literally is going to have a big life now. And Elsa would be so happy because Elsa was so connected to Bella. I should mention when she was dropped into the garage, she was just a tiny puppy, who would have known to grow into this very large dog. So, thank you kind souls for adopting her. 

Mary Stone  06:58

So diverting a little bit as I was walking the neighborhood and it was very hilly here, almost like San Francisco kind of hilly. So, it's a great workout. I have to say, though, when the heat is on, it's not something that you can manage to easily and so I get out early. And as I was doing so I walked past a home that had a festive display of patriotic colors in their garden art. And one of the things they had was a Bottle Tree, which we spoke about before way back in Episode nine clearing spaces, bottle trees. It was based on a visit to Festival Hill in Roundtop, Texas, there was a bottle tree there and I wrote about it. I'm going to visit it again because it's fun.  

Mary Stone  07:40

Festival Hills and music venue and so the bottle tree had a sign that describe that one of the artists superstitions from ancient folklore dates to the glassblowers in the ninth century Africa, several African tribes employ glass objects as talismans, magical objects, against evil spirits. Did you ever wonder why bottles moan in the wind? Fascinating. So that was the sign. With further research I learned that they believed evil spirits find their way into the inverted glass bottles and become trapped. Then come morning, as sunbeams hit the bottles, the evil spirits will be destroyed. It sounds like a long ago cure for the evil of a spirit of a hangover. So, I'm giggling because I wrote this story right after New Year's in 2019. And I didn't have hangover, just saying. 

Mary Stone  08:34

Bottle Trees were initially popular primarily in the South. Most often in crape myrtle trees prevalent there. Or trees that have died, that is, now they've grown to become an admired garden sculpture color for assortments of mostly wine bottles inverted on a wrought iron looking post with arms like branches. Blue bottles are the desired dominant color, as blue is often associated with ghosts and spirits. Blue is also said to encourage healing. These folks had red, white and blue bottles, but they were painted from wine bottles, and it was just lovely because they had other little art full things in their garden. I'll put a photo in the column and there'll be a link in the show notes. I'm not a real fan of garden art by and large, but I do like some creative things. And I could tell this is a theme that they had for the Fourth of July that's kind of carried over. So they'll probably, you know, adjust the colors based on the season. 

Mary Stone  09:30

I ended this story from long ago:  At Festival Hill they also use bottles stuck upside down in the soil as the garden edge with a cluster of spoons as a wind chime. Some would call it shabby chic, but around here, it may look like the camouflage of a bad habit. About that New Year's resolution. Garden dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com. 

Mary Stone  09:53

So, whether your family is a biological one or friends become family, be sure to embrace them every day and realize that even though we say goodbye to our friends, they are still with us always sending signs and miracles like that magical moth. Enjoy the beauty and the surprises that surround you in this world and embrace your loved ones every day. Thanks so much. See you next time on MY screen porch. 

Mary Stone  10:23

You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.