The beauty around me...

This is only the second Eastern Tiger Swallowtail I've seen in my garden this summer ... as opposed to last summer when there were always several to be seen drifting around the flowers. It seems that this has been a weak year in general for butterflies in my area. Which is maybe why this one caught my eye when it drifted above the garden this morning. This is a male, maybe in search of a mate? Or maybe just having a quick snack on his way to who knows where...

These swallowtails are generally easy photo subjects because they tend to nectar for fairly long periods of time, frequently spreading their wings. So, this isn't a particularly challenging photo, but it is still my pick to remember this day. And just another reminder to myself to never forget to see the beauty that surrounds me every day.

Three more pics on Flickr, starting HERE with an extreme close up of a young male hummer. He was going to be my Blip today, but I kept going back to the swallowtail...

Two more sleeps! I'm taking a big suitcase down with me, filled with towels, a couple of skillets, a pillow and some kitchen odds and ends. Hubs has decided that he is going to move out of his small furnished condo at the end of August and into the large, unfurnished townhouse. I have already purchased an airbed (one of those 'luxe ones that inflates to 20 inches high and is queen sized) and had it shipped to his office. Over the next month, we will get a few more basics set up in the townhouse so that he can live somewhat comfortably there until I come down with all the furniture. The logistics of it all are making my head swim at the moment, but I'm an organized person at heart and I'm already making spreadsheets and to-do lists.

I continue to pack a few boxes every day ... like eating an elephant, you know? One bite at a time...

Happy Hump Day, people.

Debbi