Butterflies In The Backyard

Happy Wednesday,

The middle of the week is here and the count down to Friday begins, not only that, but today is the official first day of Summer! Happy Solstice everyone!

I think the blog has become a little stale of late, the same subjects all the time week after week.  Thursday's Featured Artist is fun and looking at all the shops and things on Etsy is a blast too, however, I am running short of contributors. Bringing on a decision to every once in a while step away from the work and jewelry aspect of the blog and talk about something random.  On occasion this has occurred, but it needs to become more of a regular thing.

In today's hustle and bustle, instant gratification world of hurry, hurry, now, now, we sometimes forgot to look up from the phone screen, stop texting, step away from the computer or whatever holds our concentration and attention, and take a look around the real world, the one we live in, not the one we cultivate via electronics, gagdets and social networks.

Having said that, I would like to share a neat experience.  Yesterday, as I sat at the workbench (table), I glanced out the window and was surprised by this wonderful, huge, beautiful butterfly crawling across the potted marigolds on the deck in the backyard.  Opening the sliding glass door requires some effort, instead of wasting time fighting with the track, and snatching the camera off the table instead, I slowly crossed the carpet to sit quietly at the backdoor and take these pictures through the plate glass window.

The camera is set on 13x zoom, and the photos are a little fuzzy, but the detail is pretty amazing for my little Canon A480.  I took them in order as it walked across the petals and then flew off.  Missing the final "in flight" shot, the wings are still awe inspiring.  Such a delicate creature, I think this is called a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.

There are seven photos in total.  It must have walked the flowers for two or three minutes allowing me to finally get a really good shot of its wings.  Although taken through plate glass window, I don't think I could have captured this creature's beauty if it was three inches from the camera instead.

 I thought it was ready to take flight in this picture, until...

Oops, apparently not, either that or it figured out it was being photographed and allowed me to take a picture of its wings fully extended.

It did finally take off, and as mentioned above I did miss the initial shot I had intended to take, the camera has a strange almost three second delay, however the wings are a sight to behold.

Thank you for stopping by and having a look.  In hope that today's blog has brought a smile to your face and a moment of calm while you read.

The Alchemists Vessel would like to wish you a wonderful rest of the week.