Hello Cybele!

This beautiful butterfly arrived at just the right moment yesterday afternoon. It had been a day of ups and downs. Starting early in the morning, Abby, our twelve year old cat of “The Look” fame, wasn’t feeling well. (A trip to our wonderful veterinarian this afternoon, along with some tests, will hopefully reveal more in the next few days.) Later in the morning, we learned of the death of an old friend and former colleague of ours. He was just 61 years old. In the afternoon, Chuck spoke with his Dad out in Washington State. It was one of the better phone calls he has had with his Dad since we returned from our visit back in April. Dad sounded strong and in good spirits. It was the highlight of the day.

Toward the end of the afternoon, we stepped out onto the front porch to sit and read the newspapers for a little while. That’s when we found this lovely creature clinging upside down, to the inside of one of the old screen panels. I stepped back in the house to retrieve the camera and shot the photos you see above. (Unfortunately the camera and I had trouble getting the focus on the butterfly and not the screen or the world beyond the screen.) When it clung lightly to Chuck’s finger for the trip outside to the waiting tree, we were both amazed and delighted. After some research in a nature book and on the internet, we discovered it is a Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) - a very cool name, a very cool moment.

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You can click on the image to get a better look at “Cybele”.