Tending the Butterflies in Lovington
Photo by Darian Hays
Butterflies are illusive creatures but Francis Seelow of Lovington has found a way to attract them to his garden.
Harvest time
•September 30, 2015•
By Nick Fiala
Reporting from Lovington
To everything there is a season...A time to plant, and a time to harvest - Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
A sunny sky looks down on a yard full of beautiful plant life, a kind of raw oasis in the middle of endless squares of concrete road running through the town of Lovington.
Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, all fly around in a symphony of colorful motion and calming ambience. The habits of each of these creatures are well known to the man who runs the garden they enjoy so.
“They go clear down to South America in the winter.” the man says, pointing at the hummingbirds. “You know, That’s a long ways.”
Hard work over a long distance is something this man, Francis Seelow, knows well. His talent for prolific gardening has earned the attention and gratitude of his friends and neighbors.
Seelow’s talents were honed over a lifetime spent farming endless acres in local counties. His first teacher was his father, who farmed provincially for a living, himself the son of a hard-working immigrant.
“Dad farmed all his life. My grandfather came over here from Germany after World War 1. He was a blacksmith and railroad worker.”