Believe it or not, this post your reading is my 750th post. Wow – that’s a lot of words I’ve typed here on my blog and released out into the blogosphere.
Quite the busy bee I’ve been as a part-time blogger.
Today is also 9/11/2019, and perhaps I should be reflecting on 911 instead of butterflies and bees and blogging efforts? It’s the day that all the buzz with what happened back then will be flooding cyberspace.
My heart remains touched by the memories of what I watched on the TV screen. Long-distance from there, while I was back here in Wisconsin. What happened to the twin towers and New York City (and the US) on that day is hard to forget. I hope dementia never gets my brain so I’ll never forget the way we overcame the tragedies.
It was sunny, with clear blue skies on 911. The view rapidly changed to the horror that I witnessed unfold on the TV screen. I wish it would’ve never happened. I’m glad we remember the day, though. And I’m thankful our country pulled together to recover from it.
Thank goodness, we’ve continued to grow away from bad memories and hold onto good memories each year since.
In the world’s worst segue, (it’s early, I’ve only had two cups of coffee…), my Sedum plant has grown over the years, too. The plant was in the flower basket I received at my mother’s funeral in 2012. A sad day, but now I reflect on happy memories. I’m thankful I continue to grow each year.
The plant is huge now, and it is starting to blossom. Right on time, yes it is. September is its month to attract bees and butterflies to my garden.
From my office window, I admired the plant yesterday. The afternoon sun heated it up and it was the garden’s hot spot to be.
I saw one butterfly flitting around it, and couldn’t resist the chance to grab my camera to see if I could catch a few photos of it in action as it shared the space with the bees.
Well hello there, Painted Lady – thank you for stopping by to do a little dance on my Autumn Joy Sedum plant.
This beauty is often confused with the American Lady. This particular butterfly was proud of her colors as she flew around with grace.
I smiled as I thought of the summer as it is ending. And how the flower will soon rest after the frost of October settles in. My other garden plants will too. It’s been a good growing year.
Then Lady turned to walk away and flicked her wings in a fluttery wink and a nod.
Looking quickly back to me as if to say, “Don’t worry, my dear, I’ll see you again next year.”
Post Inspiration – One-Liner Wednesday – Join us all over at Linda G. Hill’s blog for guidelines on this fun weekly prompt.
PS – What do you do to remember 911? I hope today you find a way to share smiles and kindness. Thank you for stopping by! What fall flowers to you enjoy in your garden? Do you have Painted Lady butterflies in your area? Have you ever spent a half-hour on the internet trying to research and make sure you’ve identified a butterfly correctly?
I don’t think I’ll ever forget where I was and what I was doing on 9/11. Waiting for an oil change at the end of the work day, I was finally able to watch video and see images of what had happened. I was utterly stunned and horrified and I hope this country never has to live through that again.
Your your butterfly and flower photos are beautiful, Shelley! Stunning!
You describe the feelings of that day very well, Mary.
Thank you, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts – glad you enjoyed the photos!! Hope the storms of today aren’t too bad for you – they’re rumbling here this morning!
It’s very gray and I’m waiting for more rain. It looks like we’re going to have two days of this. ☔
Sigh…hope your trip takes you away from it!!
Weather forecast is looking good!
YAY!!!!!
I included a photo of our flag today, but otherwise, nothing special. I don’t like it when we treat these days as special, because I feel the focus collapses to that day. We should always remember 911, and we should support first responders, in our community, servicemen and women around the world and we should remember to not hate everyone who looks like those terrorists. I love your beautiful, peaceful photos and I think they are great images to share today.
Your post brightened my day, Dan! I agree with you – always remember, but don’t overdo it!
Thank you for your compliments about the photos, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
DH and I were driving to have a photo taken of us, since we were getting married at the end of that week. We heard NPR break in with the story of a plane hitting the first tower. That was upsetting enough, but when they announced a second one, we knew it was terrorism. When we got to the photographer’s studio, the door was unlocked, but we sat there for 15 minutes and saw no one. I suppose they were in the back room watching TV in shock like the rest of the country. We never did get that picture taken, and guests who needed to fly in missed our wedding. Yes, that day is a forever memory for all of us. For those of us who are old enough, it’s like the day of the JFK assassination. My mom says she remembers Dec 7, 1941 the same way.
Your photos of butterfly and flower are amazing. Great job! And congrats on writing 750 (!!!) posts. Wow.
Aw, your memories of the day are rightfully vivid. Your marriage is a testament to how persevering through challenges we face when we first head into a marriage can be overcome and enjoyed! I remember my mom talking about those days too.
Thank you for your encouragement, I appreciate it very much!!!
Enjoy your wedding anniversary this weekend, I hope the trees are beautiful and the warm sun against the cool air greets you as you travel. xx
Beautiful pictures.
I remember this day so vividly.
Hoping some day, people will not hate.
Thank you, Michele – I agree, I hope that day comes too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I’ll always remember the shock and tragedy of what happened on this day. It saddened me to hear the pleas of those wanting to be saved and there’s nothing we can do about it. I hope this will never happen again.
Oh, Shelley! Your photos are so lovely. I wish I had a good lens to capture them like yours.
Yes, hearing those pleas we couldn’t do anything about was so sad. Me too – I hope it will never happen again.
Thank you – I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. I hope you get the lens you’re wishing for someday. It is fun to have an alternative one to play with.
You’re welcome, Shelley. And thank you. I will definitely buy that lens. 😉
I was in the waiting room in a doctor office when I saw on TV what was going on. My heart sank. Evil, pure evil.
Yes, it was evil. Thank you for sharing your memories.
Lovely photos … nature persists … doesn’t read newspapers, continues on as best it can in the face of our meddling. Living in NYC, my first grasp of what was happening was walking out of my building and seeing Broadway, which where I lived was basically just another avenue heading down to the tip of Manhattan. The traffic on it normally went south, and there were no cars on it. Instead there were people covered in grey, with business suits and briefcases, walking north. For months, I realized I’d lost my faith in buildings, oddly … the city is all buildings and it lends some of the paternal, secure feeling of living here. Now all buildings seemed ridiculous and vulnerable. I had a similar reaction when my 20 yr-old cat died … I wanted to yell out my window to people walkings dogs … you fools, they just die! That feeling goes away, but a residue lives on. One of the positives I remember was how I and so many New Yorkers appreciate the response from the rest of the country … the shock and sympathy that made us all one … our differences, usually so talked about, vanished.
Thank you, Ellen, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I don’t know many people who live in NY, but I do know you. I’m sorry that 911 hit your life so closely. I still can’t imagine being that close to all of it. It was hard just watching it. I, too, have the takeaway that buildings are vulnerable. We are too as humans, that vulnerability brings us together at moments that take us by surprise.
My cousin got married in Chicago the Saturday after 9/11, and we were worried we wouldn’t make it because all the planes were grounded. Fortunately, they managed to start flying again on Friday and all the out-of-town guests made it. My cousin from New Jersey rented a car and drove in, because he didn’t want to miss it. And, as a bonus, another cousin had been traveling with a friend and ended up stranded in Chicago, so she was there, too.
Going to the church, I drove through a neighborhood that was home to a lot of immigrants from the Middle East as well as having a substantial Jewish population.And it was beautiful: every store had an American flag in the window, and many of the people were wearing American flags on their clothes. It was as if they were saying, “we came here to get away from that, and you do it here; you did it to us.” I’ll never forget that.
And, by the way, my cousin was absolutely the most beautiful bride, and damned if anyone was going to take that away from her…
Aw, John, I got goosebumps reading your reply. Thank you for sharing your memories of the day. Focusing on the good that came of the day warms my heart. Congrats to your cousin and her 18th anniversary!
I remember 911 and my thoughts went out the people trapped in the towers and I hope we never see anything like it ever again. My thoughts also went out to the firefighters families as my own father now retired was a firefighter for 20 years in Sheffield UK. You have to learn to switch of from the danger but that danger was shown that day.
Lovely photos Shelley
Thank you for sharing your memories, Julie. I agree with you, I hope we never see that again. The heroic fire-fighters and their families remain a strong image for me too. Thank your dad for his service.
Beautiful flower and insect photos, Shelley! Painted ladies are so pretty on the late summer flowers. We have some marigolds out back that they love.
I will never forget 9/11. I was teaching. The kids in my class when the planes hit were mostly juniors and seniors. We were glued to the TV until we were dismissed shortly before noon. The kids were scared and looking to me for reassurance. It was one of my toughest days in education.
Thank you, Laurie, glad you liked the photos. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
Oh, my, that had to have been a very challenging day for you as a teacher. I got chills reading your words, I’m sure you did well, despite the challenge. Our local news last night shared a story of a teacher who was that age when 911 hit and now he’s a teacher who struggles to help the kids who never experienced the day understand the history of what happened. Tough stuff.
Love the flowers Ms Shelley … no so much the insects. Thanks for sharing. g
Thank you, g – it’s okay to not like bugs! xx
Exquisite butterfly photos – really amazing.
Today’s anniversary is a tough one. I remember all too vividly what happened that day and where I was – in my office at work. We should never forget, but it is so very difficult to remember and replay those images in our minds. The lives lost and survivors and responders and their suffering…unimaginable. On the local noon news today, they showed the photos of all the people in the state who died that day. And snippets of their stories. Heartbreaking all over again.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’m touched by your encouraging words for the photos. And…I’m with you too on the heartbreaking reminders shared on the news. It was like 18 years hadn’t gone by, it was as real as the first time I watched some of the scenes.
Hi Shelley, You made me smile on the busy bee. On another note, no one forgets where they were when they heard the sad 9/11 news. Exceptionally beautiful photos! Congratulations on 750:)
Hi Erica – thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’m glad I brought a smile to your day. You brought one to mine!!
Your butterfly photos are a delight. The colors are amazing. About 9/11 I remember being on the phone with my SIL, each of us in our homes, as we each watched the horror unfold on TV. We didn’t say much to each other, just stayed on the line not wanting to hang up. We were wordless…
Thank you, Ally, I’m happy you enjoyed the photos.
Ah, yes, there were many wordless moments that day. Thank you for sharing your memories with me.
Wow–those photos! Just gorgeous! 911 was a weird day for me; I was actively trying to break up with a bad boyfriend (the guy before the guy who would become my husband!) and he called to tell me to turn on the TV. He was the sort of guy who wouldn’t stay gone, and I felt like he used the awful tragedy to get near me again. So, I don’t think I ever properly mourned that terrible event in U.S. history, but I’m glad we’re reminded of it on the anniversary, because it’s dangerous to forget history. There were all sorts of events here in the metro D.C. area on the day, too. I did wonder what, if anything, they talked about with the kids at school. Hard for kids to digest. Hard for adults to digest, really. Have a wonderful weekend–and I hope all our commenting snafus are fixed now!
Thank you, Rebecca – and thank you for sharing your memories of the day. That must’ve been a terrible boyfriend – glad you found a better guy! You’re right, it’s history and it is dangerous to forget it. Your kids are young enough to not remember, hope they learned something valuable about it in their history classes this past week?
Hope you have a wonderful weekend too. I think some of my commenting snafus are fixed – at least they are on your site. I’m so grateful for your assistance in figuring them out!! Thank you!
Hope you’re having a great week so far, Shelley!
Thank you, Rebecca. Your post on Johnny Joo was a joy to read! Thank you for sharing it, I hope others stop by to check it out – https://rustbeltgirlblog.wordpress.com/2019/09/16/my-interview-with-photographer-and-author-johnny-joo/
Thank you, Shelley!
I was at work on that fateful day – the work day had not started and my mom, who rarely called me at work, called to say what she had heard on the radio and said to put on the TV – we had TVs in our conference rooms. We all crowded around. I had to work on something for Robb on a MIOSHA matter for their presentation the next day – the office was dismissed and I went home with Robb at noon – we took surface streets. It was a beautiful day here as well. Your butterfly pictures are absolutely gorgeous and I’ve never seen a Painted Lady – I like how she hovers around the bee at that beautiful flower – just a perfect butterfly “pretty in pink” as you’ve captured her.
Thank you for sharing your memory of the day. The sky was so blue that day – and so quiet after all the planes were stopped.
Yes, she’s a pretty butterfly. The markings are so cool. Thank you for your compliments!
May we never have to go thru a day like that again. I had another butterfly event this afternoon, the woman with the open butterfly garden, strictly Monarchs today but unfortunately it is raining today. I did go to the one in July and she will have it again next year … I saw a Monarch yesterday and was surprised as it was chilly and windy but there it was … so beautiful. I had the big camera yesterday and actually did better with the small camera last Saturday in my opinion – of course the Monarch yesterday was trying to stay on the flower due to the wind and spreading its wings but they were inside the goldenrod so not as vibrant shots as last week.
Wind and butterflies don’t mix well for photos. I’ll be by to see the photos you captured!
I’m a few days late reading this…where did my week go? I’m not sure which I think is prettier, the butterflies or the flowers. I do love those pink flowers. Making me miss my backyard even more. My husband has the green thumb and I enjoyed the flowers he cared for and the butterflies and hummingbirds they attracted. Thanks for sharing such beautiful photos.
I remember where I was that day, I don’t think anyone could possibly forget. I was a teacher at the time, and while my colleagues turned on the TV in their classrooms, I refused to do so. My students were aware of what happened but I felt that watching the scenes play out the TV screen over and over was not in their best interest. I left it to their parents to decide how much they should see and address the overwhelming sadness and fear that the events of the day instilled in all of us. I did my best to keep my emotions hidden that day. And I remember feeling so very grateful to hug my husband and children when I got home.
Thank you for your words of encouragement. I’m glad the flowers bring back memories of your garden for you.
Yes, the day is hard to forget. I respect your take on the day and how you did not share the news over and over again with your students. My kids were in grade school and their teachers did the same. As a parent, I was grateful to be the one to talk to them about it and share what I felt they’d be comfortable with at the time. A hug from loved ones that day was a priority to me too.