Today, Thursday the 30th of September, instead of taking the bicycle to Alligator Lake, I decided to walk. Often, when riding the bicycle, you come upon a scene, and before you have time to park the bike and get off, the scene evaporates. Today, walking slowly along the dike, all creatures seemed quite joyful with the day. It is a terrible thing to equate human characteristics to animals, but the way they darted about in the breeze, one could not help but think they were quite elated with the cooler weather. I certainly was.
About midway through the walk, this Palamedes Swallowtail landed beside me and would not move. It was as if he was standing guard or protecting me. I crouched low and took several photographs of him holding onto the blade of grass swaying in the strong breeze. Then,
out of focus in the frame, I noticed a black glob moving into the frame. I thought it odd and moved the finder away from my eyes to take a look. Out from the underbrush, a black snake had crawled out to take a look at us. The Swallowtail continued to hold its ground.
I got this photograph, then lifted up. In that moment of lifting up, the snake darted back into the underbrush. The Swallowtail stayed a moment and then flew on.
A passing encounter between a Swallowtail, a Black Snake and a Sojourner. Was the Swallowtail warning me? Was it just a chance happening? In the kingdom of the wild, it would be written off as a chance encounter. In the Kingdom of the Imagination, the valiant Swallowtail was willing to stand his ground and give his life for me, if that is what it took to protect me.
Indigos are so rarely seen anymore. They are beautiful snakes.
ReplyDeleteThe more i think about it, I think that this was a common black snake. The white under his mouth makes me think it wasn't an indigo.
ReplyDelete