Not ready yet

I'll never be ready for winter. You can forget that. But I thought I was well enough to go on a little adventure to Marathon. I hadn't used my inhaler for days; had breathed fine all night long. But as soon as I got out at the Post Park, it felt like a vise grabbed my chest. Hadn't even occurred to me to take the inhaler with me. Having driven all that way, and having been cooped up in the house way too long (anything over 30 minutes is too long), I toughed it out. Didn't stay long. Thought the manicured Gage Gardens inside town would maybe be better. Fewer weeds. It was only slightly better. But all so worth it! Just as I was heading back to the car, I spotted a stupendously gorgeous butterfly.

Whenever I see a species I haven't seen before, some name pops into my head, right or wrong. The name that popped into my head on this one was Palamedes. Never seen one. That's just what my brain's computer spit out. Based, I guess, on my subconscious absorption of photos in my guides. On the way back to Alpine I opened my butterfly app. It's not very good, especially at 70 miles an hour, but from what I could tell, it looked like a "Desert" form of Black Swallowtail. No idea of what its range is, but figured it was not that unusual. When I got to Alpine and downloaded my photos, I still wasn't sure. Didn't look like the Desert, either. And way out of range.

Determined to figure it out without Brian's help, I searched online and in my book. Nothing matched exactly, but Anise Swallowtail looked like the best fit. Way out of range for that species, too. Hmm...  Seemed I would have to consult Brian, after all. 

He says it's a rare form of Black Swallowtail called "pseudoamericus." I would never have figured that out. It's not in my butterfly book either. So that was pretty exciting!

Everything else from today certainly pales in comparison. This lovely little flower was out in a grassy area all by itself. I'm told it's called "Devil's Bouquet." (Nyctaginia capitata)

I saw more Black Swallowtails today than I've ever seen at one time before. Here's a lovely specimen from the same place today that shows how I expect a Black Swallowtail to look.

While I was disappointed I couldn't ID the "pseudoamericus" by myself, it was perfectly understandable to me why I couldn't. But I really was irritated at myself for not identifying these Autumn Meadowhawks without help. I should have gotten it, but didn't.

And I love the pink blush on this Southern Dogface. Not that a name like that isn't worthy of a blush.