Happy Sunday.

Yesterday I started the unexpected Friday Butterfly Bonanza story, and displayed a Mourning Cloak. Now, Mourning Cloaks are certainly spectacularly special, in-and-of themselves, but what made Friday even more special was the presence of two new (to me) butterflies in such numbers. The Question Mark above was the other abundant butterfly around the bush of unknown attraction along the Kennebunk Bridle Path. As I mentioned yesterday, the Question Marks were much more difficult to photograph, since they sit, most of the time, with wings folded. This particular Question Mark was, at least for a moment, fanning slowly, and I managed, by holding the camera one handed at arms length above and well to one side of my head, to get an angle that shows the wings to good advantage.

What follows is a more typical shot of a Question Mark, on the right side of the branch, balanced by a Mourning Cloak on the left. The two white marks on the back of the forewing on the Question Mark, are, by the way, the marks that give the butterfly its name.

Another shot of the QM with wings open, though in more challenging lighting.

And, just because I can not resist celebrating such abundance of beauty, another Mourning Cloak shot.

All with the Nikon Coolpix P500 out near the end of the usable zoom in Close Up Mode. Programmed auto. Processed in Lightroom for Clarity and Sharpness. Precise EXIF data can be seen by clicking the image and choosing “Show Details” at the top of the window.

So it is Sunday, and my Sunday thought has to do with such unexpected beauty right in my backyard. I had seen photographs of both these species, but I was not, honestly, even aware that they occurred in Maine, and certainly not in the numbers I saw on Friday, and certainly not in Kennebunk. Blessings abound.

I am also thankful this morning to see that a combination of Federal and Local conservation agencies and organizations have “officially” protected and intend to manage my favorite pocket sanctuary…the little section of the old trolley bed known as the Kennebunk Bridle Path where it passes along and through Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge lands beside the Mousam River near its mouth. There is even a new interpretive sign where the trail crosses Rt. 9. This little stretch has become my go-to place when I want a few moments to an hour (or two) of good things to see and smell and be around…and perhaps a photo op or two thrown in. It rarely disappoints. The place itself is as unexpected and as blessedly unlikely as the butterfly bonanza of Mourning Cloaks and Question Marks I found there on Friday. I do give thanks.