Nature's Beauty

I suspect this may be a title I'll want to use more than once on this holiday. Partly because I am free of other distractions (employer, get thee hence!), I have spent a lot of today observing the various miniatures of nature surrounding me. The giant Green Beetle that landed on Madame and which I removed to safety, or rather to the outdoor photo studio (you should see the video, which you might if I master uploading to YouTube). The lizard that was sunbathing on the beautifully textured limestone walls of La Capella and moved like lightning. The bees in the Lavender. The gentle cooing of pigeons in the wooded valley nearby. The squawking of the buzzards circling overhead like vultures, waiting for you to fall asleep in the midday sun before they peck your eyes out.

But I'll go for this Old World Swallowtail - Papilio machaon. It is beautiful.