Between our birth and death we may touch understanding, As a moth brushes a window with its wing. ~Christopher Fry
I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man? ~Zhuangzi
I’ve had much fun with my mystery picture giveaway the last few weeks, and I hope you have too. I’ve loved your imaginative guesses. You’ve opened my eyes to seeing new things in those pictures. And I have to boast a bit here. One of the pictures I posted was a real stumper – that close-up of a woolly worm. Fun that Pat stayed with the woolly worm guess on this one, guessing an upside down woolly worm. Emily gets the most imaginative prize this post with her guess of an aerial view of a yellow and black trash can lid. But the Halloween skeleton eye guess by Lois was imaginative too and very seasonal. I could see the halved avocados that Peggy and Lacy guessed, although Lacy should have stayed with her first thought and then she would have been right. The peacock feather guess from Kathy was good and I liked Connie’s googly eyes on a leaf guess. I don’t know what cookies Ellen and Karen are meaning, but I’m having to squint to see cookies. Rebecca saw a crocheted scrubber or a sunflower. Paula guessed the edge of a painted dish.
But for most of you Wednesday’s mystery photo wasn’t much of a mystery. Kathleen, Shirley B., Lisa B., Laura nailed it in one guess, and Janice W. was absolutely right since she even said the type of moth – a polyphemus moth. I had to look up polyphemus, but yes, it does appear to be a polyphemus moth. Others of you hedged your guesses by saying moth and butterfly or caterpillar or dragonfly while some of you just chose butterfly.
Butterflies and moths are different. Moths are nocturnal and butterflies are diurnal. I’ve heard the word nocturnal a lot. No explanation needed for it, but I was glad the article I found explained diurnal – active during the day. Learn something new every day. The problem is remembering what you learn. The way butterflies and moths hold their wings is different too with butterflies usually folding their wings back, while moths flatten their wings against their bodies or spread them out in a “jet plane” position. This poor moth had already lived out its short life when I found it so that might be why its wings were folded.
And so we come to our last mystery photo for this round of mystery photos. You have until Tuesday night at midnight EST to make a guess on the picture up top to get another entry into the drawing to perhaps be one of three winners who will get their choice of one of my books.
I had my Hometown Book Party today. Always fun to talk books with reading friends. Wish you all could come to one of my parties. It was a rainy afternoon, but some braved the rain and came anyway. And they listened politely while I talked about the history of the Frontier Nursing Service that I centered my book, These Healing Hills, around.
It will be a while before I have a new book out to celebrate. But I am going to be taking part in a fun internet Scavenger Hunt that starts on October 19th. Over twenty authors will be taking part and you will have a chance to win a copy of each author’s new release besides other gifts – over a $1,000 in prizes plus the fun of the Scavenger Hunt. Most of the authors who have posts along the hunt are giving away additional prizes too. I’m giving away a set of my Rosey Corner books and a Willow Tree Keepsake box with a girl holding a dog. So mark your calendars and come along for the fun next week on the 19th.
As always, thanks for reading and for playing my mystery photo game. I’m ready for your guesses, starting now!
Comments 52
A close up of bread. ???
Author
Love it, April. I’m going to have to take a picture of my homemade bread and see if it looks like this. You can see what the picture really is on tonight’s post.
Maybe a pot of pasta simmering.
Author
A simmering pot of pasta? Hmm, Rebecca, maybe I’ll remember that idea for the next round of mystery photos. That sounds like a fun picture to try to turn into a stumper. This one definitely ended up a stumper.
I studied it again and l think lattice top pie crust
Author
Those are both great guesses, Lois. I especially like the pie guess. I think I tried a mystery picture of a pie once some time ago. Now you can check out the rest of the picture on my post tonight. Nobody got it right.
I think maybe a closeup of a burlap bag
I will be looking forward to it thanks.
A hand woven throw.
Author
Nice guess, Ellen. It’s not right, but you were right there with many of the others who guessed something woven. I’ll reveal the rest of the picture tonight.
Icing drizzled over a pastry! Just a very wild guess!
Author
I like that guess, Laura. Very imaginative. It’s not right, but I really like the way you think. Making me wish for one of those icing drizzled pastries for breakfast. 🙂
Croched doily or spread
Author
Hey, Geraldine. Good to see you chiming in with a guess. You’re not the first to think of crocheted items. I can see that. It’s not right, but I can see it. 🙂
I have a semi opaque window curtain that looks like that. I am going to say a curtain.
Author
Great guess, Joy. Not saying it’s right, but I know where you’re coming from. And if you aren’t right, then maybe that could be an idea for the future mystery photos.
Author
Debbie – I do have some placemats. I could have taken a picture of them, but did I?
Betsy – Glad you’ve had fun guessing on my mystery pictures. A lot of people are agreeing with you on that woven something guess. Of course, sometimes a lot of people are wrong. Sometimes.
Albert – Glad you stopped by to share a guess with us. You’re not the first to guess some sort of fabric.
Kathleen – My grandmother and my great aunts did a lot of handiwork, including making those lovely doilies. I might have taken a picture of one of the them. And I might not have. 🙂
Lisa B – that’s a great guess. A kitchen sponge. I mean it’s time I started thinking outside the box and start taking pictures of some ordinary stuff. But did I do that this year.
Linda R – You are the third guesser to bring snake sheds into the conversation.
Rebecca – I love your guess. I think I need to walk down to the creek tomorrow and see if I can find that picture.
Connie – It could be a dishcloth. We’ll see on Wednesday night.
Author
Skye, so glad you think my mystery photo games are fun. I have fun trying to come up with tricky pictures. It remains to be seen how tricky I’ve been this time, but honeycomb is an interesting guess and one that Pat agrees on.
Amy, sorry you missed some of the mystery photos. You can go back and look at them and guess now if you want. I like your guess of cheesecloth. Not saying it’s right, but not saying it’s wrong either. 🙂
I’m guessing a dish cloth.
The rippling of shallow water in a creek.
Hey, that’s a great guess!
I think it’s a snake skin.
Kitchen sponge?
lace
🙂 Kathleen ~ Lane Hill House
like a lace doily
It’s cloth fabric.
Is Cloth Fabric.
All I can guess is it is something woven like chair cover or tablecloth! It’s not a very good specific guess but ….
Thank U Ann for keeping us guessing!!!
I say it’s a woven placemat 😃
I meant to comment on the moth. I did know what that one was easily