The Quest for a Butterfly

That’s me, chasing butterflies with a camera.

For days, I’ve been trying to capture a photo of this elusive angelic Western Tiger Swallowtail, but every single time I came close, he fluttered out of reach, teasing me. But I’m patient; I had a feeling he’d return and he did!

After chasing him/her for a week, I was talking to it, “You little bitch, stop moving around.” Maybe it knew I was on my last nerve. If any neighbors were out and about, I’m sure they thought I was talking to myself, but I wasn’t. I was talking to a BUTTERFLY. That makes all the diff.

It’s so hot this morning, I was allowed a brief moment to showcase the magnificence while feasting on the nectar of late summer flowers.

The photos aren’t the greatest; it’s hard to focus and run at the same time, but I think it captures a certain butterfly essence, the joie de vivre.

#WordlessWednesday

15 thoughts on “The Quest for a Butterfly”

That’s always been my fave butterfly since pre-school. Worth the joie de vivre running to embrace the image of the Western Tiger Swallowtail. It’s interesting to see the different configs of their wing tails, knob rounded versus knife-life, and also the gender colorations. I’m wondering if that’s a female with the turquoise-ish peacock eyes coloration at the rear of the wings. Not sure.

https://www.butterfliesathome.com/swallowtail-butterflies.htm#:~:text=Most%20(not%20all)%20of%20these,sip%20dissolved%20minerals%20and%20salts.

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Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud on August 19, 2020 at 4:59 PM said:

I’m not sure either, it’s not that common to see as we have more Monarchs and Mourning Cloaks, but it’s so big and beautiful and OWNED this garden.

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- Jordan Hoggard on August 19, 2020 at 5:13 PM said:
  
  Bengal Tigers have 100 square mile or more territories, Tiger Swallowtails? I can see him/her OWNING your garden. Kinda a way cool invasion. 🙂
  
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- Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud on August 19, 2020 at 8:24 PM said:
  
  I knew it isn’t true, but it seemed as every single time he waited til I got close to fly away-and then he decided I had suffered enough. Very cool butterfly.
  
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- Jordan Hoggard on August 20, 2020 at 2:31 AM said:
  
  Maybe it was a quick fixes have shallow roots butterfly. Wanted to make sure your roots were strong enough to laugh at storms and you were not a sole paparazzi and actually interested before handing over the photo op? 🙂 Wise butterfly for a wise garden. I love that you felt it OWNED your garden. Quite a blessing of a benevolent “Invader.”
  
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- Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud on August 20, 2020 at 7:14 AM said:
  
  Well, I was benevolent because after chasing him/her for a week, I was talking to it, “You little bitch, stop moving around.” Maybe it knew I was on my last nerve.
  
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- Jordan Hoggard on August 20, 2020 at 7:48 AM said:
  
  🙂 LOVE that. HaHaHaHaHa… “You little bitch, stop moving around.” Priceless. Such a meditative way to address Nature. Seriously, no tongue in cheek. Nature’ll kill Ya. And, Nature’ll support you very much. I se, “You little bitch, stop moving around,” as being straight-up honest, fauceting what you feel to pour it into the experience… and then, the butterfly went, “Oh, ok. I see you’re serious. Here’s my good side.” 🙂
  
  Sometimes, on the last nerve means you’re 3mm from being there. I bet the butterfly felt that.
  
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- Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud on August 20, 2020 at 8:52 AM said:
  
  What’s funny is the macro vision of me saying that OUT LOUD and no one else is here but me and my elusive butterfly.
  
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- Jordan Hoggard on August 20, 2020 at 4:35 PM said:
  
  At least it wasn’t an abusive butterfly. They’re torrential to self esteem, making transformation to beauty too damn hard.
  
  I figure it’s fine to talk to yourself or beautiful insects or animals so long as you or they respond. And. Mr or Mrs Swallowtail responded with the Olan Mills Photo op. That’s a cool response… why we’re here talking about it right now. 🙂
  
  Each time I visit this post your, “You little bitch, stop moving around” frustration gets me rolling chuckling. It is just one of THE most perfect statements from one gardener to another. Heck, gardening is a full contact life-sport. Your statement laid that stuff DOWN. 🙂
  
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- Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud on August 20, 2020 at 4:40 PM said:
  
  I’m glad that my mental shenanigans are the cause of your neverending chuckles. 🙂
  
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- Jordan Hoggard on August 20, 2020 at 4:46 PM said:
  
  🙂 Me, too. 🙂 Hey, when you’re funny, AND it strikes gardening chords of substance… Have at it! Shenanigans are one of my favorite things as well. I may live in the footnotes intellectually a lot of the time, though the heart keeps me from living in the shhhhhh we’re in a Library boringly overly-discreet part… you know, so discretion is not yoked, and free to be… well… discreet properly.
  
  Plus, who was it? Victor Borges. Who said. Laughter is the shortest distance between people. A great laugh keys me in to the “this is good stuff.” Other things of course do as well, though… ok… I won’t quote it again… Discretion is saying the horse isn’t dead, though stop kicking it.
  
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