Yesterday, being the first day of spring, on my lunch break I went out into our yard to look for signs of spring. We live in the tidal zone along a river about 2 miles inland from the sea, and our spring is delayed up to two weeks from those who live even a mile further inland. Our crocus are just pushing up the first green sprigs…just up the street they are in full bloom. We get payback in the fall, when, baring an early snowstorm, our warm days linger a bit longer, with 5 degree warmer temperatures than our inland neighbors.

I took shots of the crocus and the buds of the maple flowers, still little hard red balls on the branch tips, and was surprised by a butterfly flitting round the yard. It would fly a short hop and then sit with the sun on its spread wings, evidently building up energy for the next hop. I chased it down for a pic.

It is a Question Mark, and despite how common they are in New England, only my third conscious sighting. When I got the image on the computer screen for processing, I saw pretty clearly how worn the critter was. This is not a spring butterfly…so I looked up the Question Mark’s life cycle. In addition to the fact that the Question Mark feeds mostly on rotting fruits and vegetables, and carrion, in preference to flowers, which is interesting enough in itself, I found that there is a summer flight, and a winter flight (which actually flies in the fall). The winter flight over-winters in hibernation in sheltered nooks and crannies (an assumption since no one sees them), and emerges in the spring to lay the eggs that will become the summer flight. This winter flight specimen was evidently tempted out of its nook by the first day of spring.

Canon SX40HS at 1680mm equivalent (840mm optical plus 2x digital tel-extender). f5.8 @ 1/640th @ ISO 100. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation.

Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.