BUTTERFLIES ON ZINNIAS

Black Swallowtail

It's been a while since I've posted a bunch of what I think of as "theme photos," images which share something in common—place, species, type, season, or some other particular of subject matter. These shots were all taken recently, and are all of butterflies I found fluttering around and posing on the zinnias bordering our graveled walkway.

(?) Skipper 

I'm pretty sure on the IDs of the ones I've named.

But I'm not sure about the elfin…even whether it is, in fact, an elfin. And when it comes to skippers, other than the Silver-Spotted and Fiery, I'm thoroughly confused—and I may be confused about those two as well—particularly the Fiery—and just too dumb to realize my mistake.

However, I have tried to sort things out. I've compared all my "unidentified" skipper images to a selection of online images of every one of the 47 species of skippers which appears on an up-to-date checklist of Ohio butterflies and skippers.

Orange Sulphur

Frankly, nothing looked right. At least to me. Which certainly does not mean these are rare species for my neck of woods.

Instead, it most likely indicates I'm being led astray by the lighting. Or possibly a bit of crossbreeding—say, between an Orange Sulphur and a Clouded Sulphur. It could also be a variant-marked individual. Though honestly, the best bet would be my overall ignorance of butterflies and skippers in general, and an inability from inexperience to understand what to look for and how to distinguish correct key field marks.

Someone who knows their butterflies can doubtless name—at a glance—what I couldn't.

Cabbage White

Therefore, seeking to hide my shortcomings behind a literary defense, I'll appropriate a line from Shakespeare, who said: "A rose by any other name would smell a sweet."

I say a butterfly unnamed is just as pretty.

Clouded Sulphur

[Should you wish to view them a bit larger, all images can, of course, be enlarged by double-clicking.]

Elfin (?)

Fiery Skipper 

Painted Lady

Pipevine Swallowtail

Silver-Spotted Skipper

(?) Skipper

(?) Skipper

(?) Skipper

(?) Skipper

(?) Skipper

(?) Skipper

Clouded Sulphur

TAKING MY TIME

Silver-spotted Skipper on Ironweed.

It's a cloudy day here along the riverbank. The weather forecast calls for a 50-percent chance of showers this morning and 20-percent during the afternoon. Which is fine by me, even though it is a Sunday; we can use the rain. 

Earlier, when I went out to refill  the big seed feeder near the front deck, I realized that while I was making my early-morning rounds nearly two hours later than usual, the night was nevertheless just then giving way to dawn. Time moves on. The seasons turn. Autumn will be here a scant six weeks hence and we've already lost more than an hour-and-a-half of total daylight since summer's beginning back on June's solstice. Before you know it, we'll have carved our jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween, celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas, and suddenly find ourselves ringing in a brand new year.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find it an ironic paradox that as our bodies slow down, time speeds up?

But enough of such depressive ruminations! There's still plenty of this year ahead to enjoy, still a wealth of days and adventures to savor—from the delicious table fare of homegrown garden vegetables that actually taste like real food, to the visual delight of fields rich with goldenrod's bright dazzle and spattered with jeweled clumps of purple asters.

While the great wheel may turn inexorably, I intend to take my time.

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