Welcome to Daisy's Butterfly

Welcome to my first-ever blog and new website! I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I did taking and sharing them with you.

Let me tell you a bit more about myself and the story behind Daisy’s Butterfly. I’m a proud mum of two wonderful daughters. Despite moving continents during their teenage years, they’ve grown into incredible women who bring me immense joy.

Family has always been important to me, and moving 3,000 miles away from them made me realize just how much. Thankfully, technology keeps us connected every day.

When we first moved to Canada, I planned to open my Reiki business. However, I soon realized that running a business while on a visa wasn’t allowed. So, I started sharing photos of our adventures on Facebook and Instagram, and that’s when I decided to name my business Daisy’s Butterfly.

My father was affectionately known as Daisy and when he died, I inherited his camera. Before we moved to Canada, as a teacher and a mum, I found it hard to find time to explore and enjoy the camera. But once we moved, with time on my hands and a whole new land to explore, I would go for hours just wandering and snapping. Dad had loved the outdoors, he was known for his love of marathon running, and he loved to visit us in the Lake District so he could drag me up a mountain or two. Since his death, being out in nature has become so much more important to me, as apart from anything else, this is what he would have been doing, had he been here. I feel him as I am walking, just saying ‘not far to go now’ despite the car being 3 hours away! Using the camera to explore this new, beautiful country has helped me feel closer to him. This is why I share my photos, so that others can feel the peace and tranquility I feel when I am out and about.

A view of one of the many hills my dad dragged me up!

But why Butterfly, I hear you ask?

Growing up there was always a butterfly around the house, my ‘adoptive’ (she became like a grandma to me, despite just being a family friend) Grandmother used to say that it was Maternal Grandmother coming to check on us, making sure we are all ok. Sadly, I never met my maternal grandmother, she died when my mum was 6 months pregnant with me, but I do feel I got to know her a bit through the times she appeared. She would arrive when things were a bit tricky, she would arrive to say that it would be ok. She also liked to take part in family occasions – she was at my wedding, in our house we bought in Cumbria, she was there the first time my eldest ever said she loved me I could go on, but maybe you get the gist.

Many people will say it’s not unusual to see butterflies, especially in the summer months in the UK, but she appeared at the house when I was showing my mum my daughters’ christening gowns. Each christening was held between Christmas and the New Year, 3 years apart. For me this confirms that indeed this was more than just a butterfly in the house.

A butterfly I met in France.

Butterfly symbolism means many different things across different cultures, but whenever I see the butterfly, I feel she represents hope, love, joy and beauty. And that transformation, rebirth, and freedom may follow. The day I got my last teaching job; I sat out in the garden with my mum and her friend having a drink. As I told them about the interview, butterflies came and danced around us, around the table, and around me. I had noticed but didn’t say anything. It was my mum’s friend who commented on how many butterflies there were. Mum gave me a knowing look and with that the phone rang, and I was told I had the job.

So, I choose Daisy to honour my dad and the love he passed on to me of nature and photography and Butterfly in honour of the butterfly who had been so important in my life for so long. Sadly, the butterfly is no longer visiting, I now have new guides to support me.

I hope that you can join me on my pages to learn how to develop a connection with nature, enjoy the photos and escape from the crazy world we live in for just a little while.