Friday, October 06, 2006

SCENIC TULSA: DOWN BY THE RIVER ON BUTTERFLY ALLEY TURKEY MOUNTAIN FROM "BUTTERFLY ALLEY" Across from Turkey Mountain between the Riverpark's paved path and the Arkansas River is a narrow strip of trees, vines, and underbrush, and a footpath runs through it, undulating like a very relaxed snake. A footpad such as myself can stroll to its slight slither, insulated a bit from Riverside Drive and rush hour joggers and cyclists aerobically exercising their right to open space. In such slivers of undeveloped real estate I find a little residual wildness, a half hour of relief from what Henry Miller called “the air-conditioned nightmare”—updated—the suburban monoculture of box store boulevards, super churches, gated ‘communities’ of McMansions, horizontal hives of condominiums and apartments that is eating up the landscape of the country.  Mrs. Dr. Omed travels on business quite a bit, and she says it’s the same everywhere—from Boston to San Diego—“same buildings, same restaurants, same stuff—different trees.” A MOCKINGBIRD KEEPING AN EYE ON THINGS. With a little time on my hands on after work, I parked the car in the lot, crossed the asphalt paved ‘trail’ and a swale of mown grass, and ducked under the low limbs of the tree that guards the entrance to the “Butterfly Alley.” Now I didn’t have a name for this micro-refuge until this last visit. I had on previous occasions noticed that there were often a lot of butterflies about in September, October, and even into November last year (don’t get me started on global warming), after the wild sunflowers began to bloom. But in the 30 odd minutes I had to myself that evening, the place was practically swarming with butterflies. Butterfly Alley is the appropriate moniker. There were Monarchs aplenty as well as other species. The best of show were dark swallowtail butterflies which I first thought were Black Swallowtails, but after a couple of hours of research, decided were most likely Spicebush Swallowtails. There were also a lot of Bonking Beetles bonking. SILVER SPOTTED SKIPPER, Epargyreus clarus FIERY SKIPPER, Hylephila phyleus (male?) SPICEBRUSH SWALLOW TAIL Papilio troilus troilus BEST OF SHOW The yellow flowers all these beauties are perching upon are not of the Sunflower family Helianthus. I tenatively identify them as Helenium autumnale, also known as Sneezeweed. It is called Sneezeweed because the dried flowers were once used as an ingredient in snuff. It tickles my fancy, if not my nose. Dammit, Jim, I'm a poet, not a botanist. 2:46:09 AM    comment []