The Bonzai Butterfly Party

My husband went for a jog along one of the dirt roads above Black Moshannon, while I took my camera and went hunting for butterflies. I went down a side road, and a voice in my head said No, the butterflies are not here; they are up on the hill! So I turned around and went back, and up.

And there, in the middle of a big, sunny, breezy field, was a stand of thistles with pink blooms. They were covered in butterflies! Maybe a hundred or more! There were tons of spicebush swallowtails, at least one big tiger swallowtail, a few orange fritillaries, a monarch or two, and an assortment of other bugs.

I waded into the tall grass with my monopod and camera to enjoy the show. And such a treat it was to stand there, watching the butterflies play! Here is a joyful moment captured for posterity, in which one of the spicebush swallowtails makes a bonzai type of leap! How fun! (For the record, I think all three of these are spicebush swallowtails.)

And then when we were done, we went down into Black Moshannon for a swim. As we arrived, the radio was playing a fun song, and we just sat in the front seat and bounced around together and enjoyed that thumping bass beat for the whole rest of the song before turning the radio off. I think this will do for my soundtrack song: here is Haddaway, with What Is Love?

Sending peace, love, and butterflies from central Pennsylvania!