Peaceable Kingdom: Blue Surprise / Bathing Towhee

My husband and I were in the Barrens, and he was jogging on the closed road by the shooting range, as I walked and took pictures. Come June, it is a place where I often see butterflies. This is my big sister's birthday weekend, and I've been missing her - look, she sent me a glorious blue surprise!

The butterfly above is called pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor. I can't say they are exactly RARE here, but it can go years between sightings of them for me. So in my experience, it is a butterfly I don't often get to look at and photograph. And I get very excited when I do! The flower it is feeding on is dame's rocket, Hesperis matronalis. An American lady snacked nearby.

There are often a few puddles between the closed road and the open road to the shooting range, and today was no exception. A young groundhog grazed on gravel. A red-spotted purple butterfly flitted past. Two goldfinches came to drink. It was a modern-day version of the Peaceable Kingdom.

Then the star of the show appeared: an eastern towhee, who took a leisurely bath in the big puddle. It preened and tossed water everywhere, and it looked like it was having a great time. There's a picture in the extras of the bathing bird. Isn't it fun to take a bath in the summer in a puddle in the sun!?

I've got two photos, so here are two songs. First, for the amazing tealy blues on those back wings of my fancy butterfly, I've got Lou Gramm, with Midnight Blue. For my bathing towhee, I've got Stevie Nicks, with Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You.