That First Butterfly .......

Spring comes to Maine later than it does in parts south. Yesterday, I saw my first Butterfly of this new Spring. I was over to Mary's Woods on my first official walk of the Spring with Maggie. She was shivering with exceitement when she realizied we were headed across Sam Page Road instead of to the back of our property for a quick P,P &S. Maggie lives to run in those woods across the road. Dog Heaven for sure.

What struck me was how more in tune I am now to the subtle changes in the yearly cycles Ma Nature puts my part of the planet through. As a kid growing up in so many different locales, I never had a real chance to settle in and notice the small changes that signal what is coming. Or maybe, it just took me years of being settled in one place to see the fine print that had been there all along. 

Salmanders were one of my first signs of Spring here. My dad had warned me to watch out in basement early Spring:

"Watch where you step...... The Salamanders are horny. ...... Don't want to kill any, they're good luck you know." 

There were other indications warm weather was actually going to return to Acton. The months old snow cover begins to shrink and the snow fleas show up. There are countless indicators I mostly missed, that now let me keep tabs on what previously dependable cycles to expect.

Yesterday, while over to Mary's Woods with Maggie, I was again reassured warm days lay ahead when the pictured butterfly landed on my knee as I sat on a log. It only sat still for a second or two before it was off again in flutter mode and heading where, I have no clue. It chased the Sunlight that flashed through the bare branches of early Spring. It seemed a tad cool for a first butterfly sighting, but well, what do I know?

After Maggie and I finished our walk, I looked up the butterfly. It is a "White Admiral" , a regular every Spring who climbs out of the larva it wintered in. 

I was wondering why it seemed so disoriented. I mean, how can one tell a disoriented butterfly from an oriented one who knows where and what it is doing? Well, the normal appearance for these White Admirals in Maine is late May, early June. 

Hmm........ Maybe this one hitch-hiked up from Maryland.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ................................

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I thought of a song perfect for this day. The Rascals released it in 1968. I was 14 and though it seemed a chick song, I always liked it ........ And still due. "A Beautiful Morning".