清明 Bright and Clear

中國二十四節氣之一：清明
清明在每年4月4或5日。天氣晴朗溫暖，花草樹木始發新枝芽，萬物開始生長，景象清爽明媚，所以將此節氣命名為 “清明”。人們在門口插上楊柳條，到郊外踏青，以及掃墓。

One of the twenty-four solar terms: Bright and Clear (Ching Ming Festival or Tomb-sweeping Day)
It is on April 4th or 5th. The weather in the south of China is getting warm. Plants start to sprout and bloom. Everything looks bright and clear. That is how the day was named. People usually hang willow branches on their front doors, go outside to enjoy the spring time, and sweep the graves of departed ones.

我們的故事：
在今年清明節，我們多了一位家人要思念。我們想把這青斑蝶獻給親愛的舅父。當我的丈夫第一次遊覽香港時, 收集了兩隻青斑蝶。這也是我的丈夫第一次和最後一次見到他。人們說已故的人會化成蝴蝶來看他們想念的人．．．此刻﹐思故親。無論你們在何方﹐但願你們安好。

Our Story:
On this Ching Ming Festival, we have one more family member to remember. We would like to dedicate this Blue Tiger Butterfly to our dear uncle. My husband collected two of them when he visited Hong Kong. It was also the first and last time my husband met him. People say that our ancestors would transform into butterflies and come to visit the people they miss… Missing and honoring our departed family members and hoping that you are happy wherever you are.

#2. Buggy Buddies 蟲仔朋友

Gnorimella Maculosa said, “How are you, everybody?”
Gnorimella Maculosa說: “大家好嗎？”

#1. Buggy Buddies 蟲仔朋友

“Hi everybody, Happy Weekend!” Sugar Maple Borer said.
“祝願大家有一個愉快的週末！” 糖楓天牛說

I will start my collections of my paintings of interesting insect “faces,” which are actually the colors, patterns and textures on insects’ bodies that look like an expression on someone’s face. This is a space for you and me (and our children, families and friends) to learn about bugs from another angle—their “faces.”

我將收集一批我的有趣的昆蟲“臉” 圖畫。昆蟲“臉” 其實是它們身體上的顏色、圖案和質感所造成如像人面部的表情。這是一個給你與我（和我們的孩子、家人和朋友)的空間, 以另一個角度—昆蟲“臉”來學習它們。

春分 Vernal Equinox

中國二十四節氣之一：春分
春分在每年3月20或21日。這一天晝夜相等。北半球大部分地區進入春季的生長階段。

One of the twenty-four solar terms: Vernal Equinox
It is on March 20th or 21st. The date that day and night are the same length. It is the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

我們的故事：
上週， 我們很高興看到可愛的黃色、白色和紫色的番紅花在花園裡盛開。它們是在這裡最早盛開的春天花朵。當我們的小女兒看見它們時，她觸摸它們，然後把它們放入口，她說：“花花，花花。” 有一個下午，當她看見許多瓢蟲在窗上爬行時，她興奮地指着它們說胡話： “狄加 狄加 狄加 狄加．．．” 雖然我們不知道她說甚麼，但是我們肯定地知道春天已經到臨。祝願大家春天快樂！

Our story:
We were so happy to see lovely yellow, white and purple crocuses bloom in our garden last week. These are our first flowers blooming in spring in here. When our little girl saw them, she touched them, then put them in her mouth and said, “fa-fa, fa-fa,” which meant flowers in Cantonese. One afternoon, she was very excited to see many ladybugs crawling on the windows, pointed to them and rambled, “dig-ga dig-ga dig-ga dig-ga…” But we definitely know that spring is here. Happy spring to everyone!

驚蟄 Insects Waken

中國二十四節氣之一：驚蟄

驚蟄在每年3月5或6日。天氣轉暖，春雷震響，驚醒蟄(藏的意思)伏在泥土裏的各種冬眠動物(包括昆蟲) 。

One of the twenty-four solar terms: Insects Waken

It is on March 5th or 6th. The weather is getting warmer. Spring thunders wake up the animals (including insects) which hibernate underground.

我們的故事：

我們一歲的女兒最近經常拿着一本黃色的小“昆蟲”書。這是她爸爸小時候的第一本昆蟲書。前幾天，當我們吃早餐的時候，她偶然翻到 Morning Cloak（意思是早晨斗篷）蝴蝶的一頁，她爸爸指着它說: “在早春，這是其中一種我們可以看到的蝴蝶。”

假若你居住在北美洲，希望你很快會看見它。

Our story:

Our one-year-old daughter started carrying the little yellow “Insects” book recently. It was her dada’s (father’s) first insect book that he got when he was a kid. The other day, sitting in her high chair, she turned to a page which had a Morning Cloak butterfly by chance while we were having breakfast. Dada pointed at it, “This is one of the earliest butterflies we see in the spring.”

If you live in North America, hope you see one soon.

Get well soon 早日恢復健康

This rare Espasia forsteri is flying to Phil tomorrow. Hope he gets well soon. 這稀有的 Espasia forsteri蝴蝶明天飛往 Phil 那裡, 希望他早日恢復健康。

Swallowtail, Papilio machaon蝴蝶

This Swallowtail, Papilio machaon, is on its way to a birthday baby. 這Swallowtail, Papilio machaon蝴蝶正飛往一位生日BB那裡.