First Butterflies 2009

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.

~Rabindranath Tagore

One bonus of prowling around with a camera is seeing things that you would otherwise miss. Early last Sunday morning, I was out taking photographs of daffodils, when I spotted my first butterfly of 2009. I believe it is a common sulphur and the butterfly was very obliging about posing for a picture, as it was very cool outside and its flight muscles were not quite warm enough to fly.

Later Sunday afternoon, I spotted an Eastern tailed blue that was much less willing to pose for a picture. It had warmed up quite nicely outside and was favorable for the thermodynamics of butterfly flight. I have borrowed a photograph from Flickr so you could see what he looked like. Eastern tailed blues are fairly small but intricately and delicately colored. The blue color is on the upper side of the wings. You see the underside wings here. Check out the striped antenna.

No butterflies are hidden in this picture, but I just wanted to include another daffodil photograph from the yard.

Carina