One thing leads to another. After looking at my photo of a damaged butterfly resting on a centaurea flower I learned on a Google search that there are actually people who know how to repair broken butterfly wings. For a surprising how-to video from the Live Monarch Foundation, click here. The butterfly above is called a demi-deuil, as well as l'échiquier. In English it's called a Marbled White. Photo taken on a hike near the Gorges du Gardon in the south of France.
Vocabulary
l'effet papillon: the butterfly effect, i.e., that the flapping of a butterfly's wing might create a small change in the atmospheric conditions that could amplify and create a greater change in the weather far away
le deuil: bereavement
demi-deuil: dark clothing worn during the last part of official mourning; in cooking it's a dish
accompanied by a white sauce with truffles
un échiquier: a chessboard
Expression
de fil en aiguille: one thing leads to another; literallly from thread in needle
©2013 P.B. Lecron
