Finding Connections Everywhere

A few summers ago I got to know the wildflowers that grew on the side of the road quite well. They emerged from the ditch in waves of whites and pinks and yellows.

My dog at the time was in her senior years and enjoyed just strolling along our rural road, taking occasional rests to munch on grass or lay down at the edge of the ditch.

I strolled with her, camera in hand, and watched the busy activity amongst the flowers as pollinators buzzed or fluttered from bloom to bloom. I photographed a lot of butterflies that year, and bees and wasps. I also got to learn a little bit about skippers.

Skippers are those tiny creatures that flit along the road on hot summer days in clusters, like flower petals swept up by the wind and sent swirling. I had never really looked closely at one before that summer. Their brown colouring and small stature meant they were often well camouflaged until they took flight in their little groups to scatter along the road in a chaotic mass.

It’s when I finally slowed down and spent some time with them that I learned they are called skippers and have characteristics of both moths and butterflies. It’s also when I discovered just how adorable they are.

When I zoomed in with my camera on these creatures that are about the size a nickel, I was struck by how soft and fluffy they appear to be, and was drawn in by those giant, round, baby-animal eyes. They looked like something straight out of Whoville.

My camera has often led me down these paths of discovery. They are usually unplanned, which makes them all the more interesting, and all the more grounding. In those moments the noise of the rest of the world just melts away, and I can be present, finding connections within the effusion of life, even with the smallest things. Like a skipper from Whoville.