Last summer, E. took this picture of a beautiful Black Swallowtail Butterfly on his Buddleia. This is a nicely scented variety of "Butterfly Bush" that smells almost like lilacs.
If you click the picture, you can see some very nice detail on this fellow.
A quick shot as he fluttered away shows his back markings..
Today, as I look out of the window, I see the that all the leaves have fallen from the branches of the Cottonwood and Russian Olive trees. The sap of life has slipped from those bare bone branches to leave them anesthetized against the cold to come. I'm already longing for the heat of summer, the scent of blossom..... the sight of butterflies.
