Catch the Light

In the mornings, when the sun hits my east patio window just right, I have rainbows of color inside my home. Most of these light catchers were Christmas gifts through the years from my dear in-laws. The painted butterfly was a gift from Hilery and Adem. I love the butterflies, but, the hummingbirds are my favorites. They always make me think of your Dad. We always had a hummingbird feeder and if your Dad would sit out on the patio wearing one of his bright colored shirts, those birds would come right up to him when he sat very, very still. Those were some of his favorite moments and one of my favorite memories of him.

'Wings

This "butterfly wing" tray (15" x 8") was a gift to my mother from her Uncle Ernest Hanle, my G'pa's brother. sometime in the mid '50's. Somewhere in South America is its origin. I keep this on a dresser top in my bedroom out of direct light, as I read somewhere that light is damaging to the fragile wings. A little mystery and intrigue surrounded this uncle. There was speculation that he was CIA. Family would not hear from him for months, even years at a time, then out of the blue, he would be there to visit. A briefcase disappeared from his hospital room when he died. To imagine that we had a real "007" spy or double agent in our ancestry has always been an exciting thought, but, as near as I can tell from a photo album and papers my mother had (now in Uncle Donald's possession), he was a career military nurse. This family snapshot taken on one of his rare visits, probably the one when he bestowed the gift to my mom, shows him in what appears to be a naval officer uniform. Could this have been his cover ? Mysteries of the past, lost and forever secret !