Spicebush Swallowtail at the Orange Feast!

It was a Friday morning, and my husband and I had not been to Black Moshannon for a while, so that's where we decided to go. It gets too hot for me in the afternoons this time of year - I'm more of a cool-weather kinda gal - but I'm pretty good with mornings. So we went for a little early swim.

It was actually cooler and breezier there, and quite comfortable. As I was in the water swimming (you may see the swimming area in the extras), I spotted some orange flowers along the education center across the water, and decided I would go over for a look. So after I got out, rinsed off in the outdoor shower, and changed clothes, I grabbed my camera and walked over.

There were Canada geese feeding along the edge, and they were quite assertive. But I managed to get by them to see the orange daylilies. And as soon as I arrived there, I saw something that I had never seen before. A butterfly landed on one of the flowers and crawled all the way down inside for a snack!

I was absolutely amazed at this, for I had never before seen a butterfly INSIDE one of these orange blooms. So I watched and waited, and I snapped away, getting off maybe a dozen or so photos before it flew away. Do you see the orange pollen all over the butterfly's wings? It was apparently quite a feast.

When I got home, I reviewed my photos, and looked at the time stamps on them. Exactly 31 seconds elapsed from the time I took the first photo to the time I took the last one. So that was my tiny window of opportunity. Had I arrived one minute earlier, or one minute later, I may have missed the show!

On a personal note, last July, my big sister shed her earthly body, grew her wings, and flew up, up into Heaven, and I have been missing her a lot. July 10 is the one-year anniversary of the last time we spoke on the phone. The last time I heard her voice, the last time I told her I loved her, the last time I told her I hoped I'd see her again real soon. She was the Butterfly Girl, a lover of these creatures, as I am.

A bit of history: I have also always loved butterflies - when I was a very little girl, my Sunday school teacher asked each child to pick something that would remind them of the everlasting love of God. And guess what I chose. I selected the most beautiful, magical creature I could think of: the butterfly!

And since my sister's passing, I have vowed to love them - and protect them, and celebrate them - even more fiercely than ever on her behalf. Dear sister, thank you for sending me this glorious butterfly on such a day to comfort me and remind me. Thank you for 31 seconds of bliss.

The soundtrack song is this one: Natalie Merchant, with Life Is Sweet.