Friday, August 30, 2019

Red Spotted Purple Butterfly

I love Delicious Orchard
We go there to shop for the food, produce, fruit and other products.
But they do have a garden center outside 
and of course I always wander around there before going inside.
The flowers are always so beautiful and healthy, 
I thought the cone flowers in these colors would be so pretty in my fall garden. 




From a distance, when I first saw this butterfly, I thought it was a black swallowtail.
Good thing I am a "we better be sure" kind of girl 
because as you can see, it isn't!

Imagine my surprise when I realized it was a 
Red Spotted Purple Butterfly


It held it's wings open for long periods of time,
I actually thought it looked prettier with it's wings closed, from the side.



A little worn, torn, and tethered, still it was a thrill to see a butterfly I do not often see.

After shopping I checked back and the butterfly was gone.
Good thing I took the time to take pictures on the way in.

If you follow my blog, you may remember the story about the purple butterfly bush I saw here.
I saw 4 beauties on the way in...I planned to purchase one as I left.
When we came out, all 4 were gone, and I was not happy.

I finally found a similar one but it was just not as nice.
The moral of this very long story...
buy it when you see it and don't wait to take pictures!

18 comments:

Sue (this n that) said...

Hi Debbie, another lovely tale of when you visit Delicious Orchard. I do remember when you missed out on the butterfly bushes there a while back. Well, it was beaut this time to read that this time you fared better lol :D)
The coneflowers are gorgeous - with their rich luscious colours. Very healthy too.
Congratulations on the sighting the Red Spotted Purple Butterfly - definitely a wonderful creature and well done on those photos :D)

eileeninmd said...

Hello, Debbie! Love your beautiful butterfly images. I remember the story about you missing out on purchasing the butterfly bush. I agree, do not wait to get what you want. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy weekend!

Kerri Farley said...

Beautiful butterfly and GREAT Advice!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

Red-spotted Purple is just about the most common butterfly around here right now and Prometheus Moth at night seems to be fairly common too.

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

awwww, you've made my day with these shots.

Susie said...

Debbie, I love your flowers. I am so happy the butterfly found some good food at your house, so you could get the pictures. I do not know lots about butterflies but I truly love them. Blessings to you, xoxo, Susie

Brian King said...

So you did find a purple butterfly! Beautiful photos!

Changes in the wind said...

You and your butterflies...glad they bring you joy and that is good advice.

Conniecrafter said...

Oh their flowers do look gorgeous and what a special treat to have seen that butterfly, you always get such great closeups of butterflies, good thing you went there before doing your shopping :)

Marie Smith said...

The flowers are gorgeous! The butterfly is a beauty even with the wear and tear!

Linda said...

Good advice! Your photos are drop dead gorgeous!

Sally said...

Beautiful butterfly. So glad you were able to take photo's!

Gorgeous flowers, Debbie. I hope y'all get some of those for Fall.

xoxo

Judy said...

I remember you telling about the Butterfly Bush incident.
"Strike while the iron is hot!"

Ruth Hiebert said...

I love those Coneflowers. I have never seen them in those colors, but they sure look lovely. Way to go on the butterfly.

BeachGypsy said...

Love the pictures, especially the first one!!--that's stunning! I love wandering around the garden centers etc., or even just the lawn/garden departments of big stores--I love walking around and looking at everything, and taking pictures.

Black Knight said...

Love your pictures full of colors! Yours is a tribute to nature.

Lowcarb team member said...

Flowers and butterflies look gorgeous in your photographs.
A joy to see.

All the best Jan

LeAnn said...

I am smiling at your humor. Yes, buy it first and then photograph. However, you got some spectacular photos of that precious butterfly. I love it's colors. Light blue is a diffident favorite of mine. I loved the flowers too.
Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos today.
Loving thoughts and hugs for you!