Happiness is like a butterfly:
the more you chase it,
the more it will elude you,
but if you turn your attention
to other things,
it will come and sit softly
on your shoulder.
— Henry David Thoreau
• • •
Photo ©2011, Jen Payne, butterfly at Walden Pond.
Butterfly enthusiasts: is this Polygonia interrogationis (Question Mark) or Polygonia comma (Eastern Comma)?
Quite the contrast here, butterfly on stony ground —
The seem to like stony ground – perhaps it’s the warmth? Either that or they “hit the deck” when some crazy woman comes after them with a camera! : )
are those real names? was that butterfly posing for you on the ground at walden?
i am anxiously waiting for the answers to these important questions!!! if i had to guess, i’d guess the eastern comma… come on, now, a bug named after punctuation? how odd…
:)
Yes, real names. Apparently, one has a comma shape and one had a question mark shape on its underside, of which I did not get a picture. I’m hoping a wise and observant butterfly enthusiast will know from this photo alone.
Pose? Maybe. After I coaxed it for a very long while, whispering please and thank you as sweetly as I could!
love the photo and quote. so true so true. i guess ol’ david knew what he was talking about.
For sure!