1846- 48 Visions of the Mississippi River Vally from painter Henry Lewis

 Haha Wakpa (Dakhota) image painted by Henry Lewis after his 1946-48 journeys to sketch the Mississippi River Valley.

 The Bdote, the confluence of the HahaWakpa (Mississippi River) coming out of the gorge-valley and the Mnisota Wakpa, (Minnesota River) that gives the state our name)  - St Peter's to the white Christian Settlers of the time coming from the right.  Notice the prairie on winta tanka, the big island.

The wide valley of the Mnisota Wakpa in the 1840's.....

From The Valley of the Mississippi Illustrated, Henry Lewis, c 1967 Minnesota Historical Society, Originally published in German 1854, Das Illustrirte Mississippithal by Arnz and Company Duesseldorf

Climate Reality Leadership Training Aug 2019 - Connections with butterflies and more

Minnesota Trainees, with mentor Mike Murphy to my right, who sent out this photo. 

Attending the Minneapolis-St Paul Climate Reality Leadership Training here Minnesota this past weekend, Aug 2-4 to continue to make a stand for protecting our planet from excess use of fossil fuels by we 2 leggeds.    Thanks to Chicago Bob Shiel for his invitation to join with him to attend the 42nd training.    My own experience with the butterfly and moth nations is what came up for us during the training, where we learned to share our experience in Nature/Creation, and how living here on planet earth, mother earth, ina maka has being changing and evolving . According to the Dakota online dictionary, from the U of M https://fmp.cla.umn.edu/dakota/ Kim anana is Dakhota for butterfly -- So many memories of my earth journey, being amazed by the transformative nature of butterflies and moths.....and seeing the change in the habitats just here in my home state of Minnesota is quite humbling.  Will share a few thoughts on my journey especially having listened to Robin's fire fly story who told her Richfield MN story on Sunday before over 1100 plus folks at the Convention Center.  She was a member of our Minnesota Table #24 during the weekend, and was inspirational for us.

 Bob Shiel took this photo on the weekend training, and here, as I  carrying the spiral notebook that includes many of Al Gore slide deck we can build a presentation from.



Here is a black and white photo of me with a homemade butterfly net, in 1954, taken by my dad, out in front of the family cabin Sunset Beach, Pelican Lake at age 7.  Somehow,  I was already moved by these colorful 6 leggeds, and had curiosity to learn more about them.   Had the Peterson Field Guide to butterflies and then learned about the larvae, specific to each species.


In 1959, at age 12 prior to attending 6th grade, I visited Ohio and both sets of grandparents, and I think Inez Chase Glessner, made me this homemade butterfly net, during my stay in Findlay, prior to my travel to the Greater Miami River Valley, where granddad Weaver, AKA Noah Elwood Weaver, captured this photo of me at Ft Ancient -- At a family reunion of his second wife, Virginia Magee's, expanded family, I remember collecting pipevine, zebra and spicebush swallowtails, that really excited my curiosity, and remains burned into my memory as a peak life experience for a young boy!

 
As late as 1964, I am seen as likely a Junior in High School, with the new family 1964 Chrysler station wagon, with a butterfly net - adding to my collection.     I recall I did one Science Project about Butterflies and Moths, the lepidoptera during high school - and am still fascinated by the variety and colors of so many species.  Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidoptera
 
Here are the two frames of Minnesota Butterflies and Minnesota Moths that I created that were on display at the Palmer Weaver Family Cabins for many years in the late 1960's through the early 21st Century.   
As the family historian, one of the things I have been archiving is this tray with framed butterflies.  It was given to "Len" Leonard Cowles Glessner and his wife of 50 years, Emeline "Emma" Chappelear Glessner in 1927 to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary from friends in California. Likely species native to California. 

And just yesterday, in the neighbors garden about 1/2 mile from the Mississippi River, I took this photo of a Tiger Swallowtail drinking nectar from a native species to north america, the turks cap lily, Lilium superbum.