This is not just a picture of a Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar. It's God's reply to a young boy who said to me the morning of our adventure, "I never see anything beautiful. You always are the one who sees the beautiful things."Off we went, our family of four, on a hike up the creek. It was the tail-end of an annual 5 day camping trip to our favorite spot. I had packed two PBJ sandwiches, two turkey sandwiches, and apples. Danny grabbed a bag of chips on the way out of the camper. We found a sitting spot and lunched. We watched a slew of ants haul off one very large potato chip. During our resting and sliding off of slippery rocks time, Daniel found this little fella who will one day become a swallowtail butterfly. Can you believe this little critter?
We were fascinated by him , truly. When he was still, you could see something pulsing through a vein that went down the center of his body. He moved so quietly and undeterred. When we wanted to investigate his belly we took a stick and touched him. He grabbed onto the stick and tucked his head inside his body. His beautiful blue markings made it look like he had eyes over all his body. When he began to relax and was ready to continue his journey, his head popped out again. The color in this photo we found on the internet is more orange than the one we saw. Ours had a more rusty color. The reason we don't have a picture is because of my history with water and technology. The two have become one a number of times, and it's never been a positive thing! So, because I have yet to invest in a waterproof cover, we have to make do. But, trust me, this is the fella we spotted.
Lord, thank you for displaying something none of us had ever seen before. It was so easy for you to do. Thank you for showing us your beautiful creation. Thank you for doing this wonder for my son.
