20 August 2019 (butterfly)

white butterfly

zig-zagging past the porch

morning coffee

3 August 2019 (butterfly)

good sportsmanship

pausing the game

for a butterfly

28 April 2019 (butterfly)

Now that the rain has stopped, I spotted my first Mourning Cloak of the year on Mt. Battie this morning. This common butterfly was so-named for its purple-brown wings bordered with yellow, as if someone were wearing a dark cloak over a bright dress. But despite the somber name, it’s a potent symbol of spring’s bright renascence. Unlike almost all other butterflies in Maine, the Mourning Cloak overwinters here. When it comes out of hibernation, it feeds on tree sap, visiting sap wells made by sapsuckers. Last spring I saw my first Mourning Cloak of the season in the very same sunny spot near the summit.

steep mountain path

more enlightening

on the way down

September 23: Butterflies

monarchs take flight
in the morning sun
another day 

September 15: Chrysalis

just as beautiful
on the propane tank
chrysalis

August 8: Sunchokes

shifting light
monarch lifting 
from sunlit sunchokes

July 30: Butterflies

global politics
monarch, American lady
on the coneflower

May 21: Return from the island

smooth crossing
a white butterfly
four miles out to sea

May 5: Photos

freeing up memory

twenty views

of that one butterfly

October 7: Painted Ladies

Afternoon spent trying

to glimpse the undersides

of Painted Ladies

September 23: Butterflies

Searching for Question Marks--

existential dilemma

in the garden.