One of the Painted Ladies

I had the best time crawling around in the wet mulch trying to puzzle out this butterfly. When its wings are closed the camouflage is fantastic, and when they are open flat it couldn't be more brilliant. I thank my butterfly friend, Ann, for identifying Vanessa annabella and saving me hours and hours of googling. I'd much rather be out in the yard watching the creatures, so when I start obsessing on what to call them I try to bring in outside troops to help things along.