Freeing Butterflies: CSA Summer ’15 ” Week #7 (EO-A)
a painted lady butterfly
Did you ever see that French movie, Amelie? I haven’t seen it in years, but one scene I remember is how Amelie had this secret little pleasure of running her hands though a sackful of grain. She loved the feel.
We all have these little things throughout our days and weeks that give us a tiny spark of joy. Maybe a texture, a smell, a color contrast. Something that makes you smile inside; makes you feel alive. Bare feet on carpet; the visual intensity of green leaves on dark bark after it rains in the woods…. these are a couple of mine.
One of my little pleasures on the farm is freeing butterflies. Since the greenhouse is so hot, we run huge fans that suck in the cooler outside air. A few times a week, a butterfly will get trapped on the wind current and pulled into the greenhouse through the open door. Since the only way out is against the wind current created by the fans, the butterflies get trapped.
The poor insects spend hours fluttering against the greenhouse walls, futile efforts of escape. I always feel so badly for them, and whenever I see one I try to catch and release it.
At first, I was not very good at catching butterflies. They’d flutter and flip out of my hands. Or sometimes I’d catch them, but mistakenly maul a wing tip. With practice, however, I can catch them quickly and easily now.
Swallowtails, monarchs, the occasional furry moth, and painted ladies are the most common ones I find. Painted ladies are the ones I see the most. (See photo of a trapped painted lady)
It’s the release of the butterfly that is one of my tiny pleasures on the farm. The act of opening up my hands and watching the butterfly launch and fly away free. They always fly straight up and catch a current. And it happens in an instant. One minute they are trapped in my cupped palms, the next floating free in the sky. That moment, that one little second of letting them go… fills me with joy.
It’s simple pleasures like these that provide a vibrancy, a fullness to my day to day on the farm.
Enjoy your veggies!
Cassie, Mike, kiddos, and crew
In the Box:
- bell pepper
- cabbage, red
- carrots
- cucumber
- dill
- eggplant japanese OR globe
- garlic
- zucchini
REGs only:
- scallions
- sugar snap peas
- sweet onion
EOs only:
- basil
- bottle onion
- green beans OR snow peas
- peppers, purple
Weekly Recipes:
- Eggplant and Green Beans in Sweet Sauce
- Garlicky Braised Red Cabbage
- Cucumber and Carrot Kimchi Salad
- Carrot, Cucumber and Roasted Peanut Salad
- Creamy Spicy Eggplant Soup
- Chicken, Green Bean, Bell Pepper and Zucchini Stir Fry
- Red Cabbage with Coconut
- Carrot Soup with Ginger and Lemon
- Carrot Hummus with Cucumber and Summer Squash Crudite
- Eggplant and Summer Squash Bruschetta
- Ground Beef, Shredded Carrot and Bell Pepper Tacos
- Aromatic Zucchini and Basil Bread
- Ratatouille Provencal
- Singapore Curried Noodles with Red Cabbage, Bell Pepper and Shrimp
Wednesday, July 22nd ” EO Group A
