buttercups & rainbows
A story written for my beloved granddaughter Grace about some of her favourite things.
Nature is a majestic artwork that is constantly changing and surprising us. There is always something new to see and appreciate in nature. I believe we can all get carried away with modern technology that we can all too easily forget the beauty and the wonders to be found around us in ordinary situations.
Plants come in many colours and have a very important part to play in attracting pollinators such as butterflies, beetles, bees and moths; a good example of this is the meadow buttercup. ‘Do you like butter’ the folklore says? You then hold the buttercup close under the persons chin and if you do then the colour yellow will reflect onto your skin. This happens due to the buttercup having an upper layer of yellow colouring, and an under layer of starch grains giving it its glossy appearance, a layer of air in between acts like a mirror attracting the light and reflecting the colour back. They also focus light from the sun to heat the flowers and to warm the delicate bodies of the insects that pollinate them.
The pale faces of the primroses and cowslips however, are pollinated by the beetle, so look again at the wild flowers for they all have important merits and are very important food plants for the insects.
I took my lesson in turn from the natural world for nature is whole and yet she is never finished, for she is much older than any of us yet she still has time for buttercups and rainbows.
Did you know that a rainbow is never more than 1.25 miles apart and when we move the rainbow moves with us? We see a slightly different reflection of the sun made by different rain drops, but someone else will see the colours differently; they will see slightly different reflections.
We can apply this to everyday life whenever we see a different situation. We don’t all see things in the same way, we may have a different opinion, so don’t argue, just consider the rainbow.
Here then we will end this story and hope that the young who may read this, learn the lesson we aim to teach, a life of learning, wonder and delight. We should always try to catch these happy moments before they die, for such enchantment may be as fleetingly brief as an autumn butterfly. For if we are not filled with wonder at the very powers that created all of this, we never will be.
