The Last Butterfly - Swansong

Today is warm sunny and beautiful as only a rare few October days can be.  Attempting to save the shreds of  my once-lovely garden from brambles, elder, and other unwelcome invaders (I have the national collection of weeds)!, I saw not one or two, but six red admiral butterflies on what remains of the yellow blooms of my buddlea.

It is not the first time I've noticed that the imminent approach of Winter offers a final glimpse of  the best-loved visitors of Summer.

Do they know I wonder, that their days are numbered?  Is it a last peacock-like show of glorious colour before the inevitable happens?

Beauty, whether in nature or in human form is a transient, fleeting thing and those few people lucky enough to be blessed with it, are no more able to hang on to it than is any other living creature.  So how should we respond to it?

My own attitude is to accord it admiration, respect for its uniqueness, but no more than that, since, sadly we are all as we are and only God has the ability to turn an "ugly duckling" into a swan.  Therefore, make the most of what we have, enjoy each other's special attributes and as we age, try to avoid mirrors!