Spicebush Swallowtail

In general, the numbers of butterflies in my garden has been low this year and I have not seen many of the swallowtail species.  So, when I spied this beautiful Spicebush s/t, I had to grab a few shots.  The mechanics of switching shooting modes on the z8 are becoming ingrained now, with my fingers automatically moving to hit this button or that to achieve the right AF.  And I also adjusted the way Lightroom imports from the z8 which has reduced the noise in the images.  And of course, I've always like the way Nikon records colors in almost exactly the way my eye sees them.  Very little was done to this image outside of a crop.

Hubs spent the morning dealing with the legalities of death, but then we went out together for lunch and some errands (and a quick blood draw for me).  He got a nap in this afternoon and is not pottering around with his Camaro in the garage.  I am so glad he has taken this time off to just relax and adjust.  

Another little memory of Virginia and how she retained so many of the customs of her Italian childhood.  No matter that we were family, there was an unspoken rule that one never showed up without something in hand, preferably dessert (even well past the time any of us needed to be eating extra sugar). Eventually the big holiday gatherings got to be too much for Virginia to handle so we started being "holiday central."   I'd spend hours planning every last item and then optimistically try to organize dinners by letting everyone know what they could bring - Virginia and all the aunts would show up with desserts (and usually the cousins too, now that I think of it) in addition to whatever side I'd suggested.  Imagine if you will cakes, pies, Italian pastries (frequently from several people), eclairs, cookies and anything else you could think of.  It took several years before I realized that the Italian need to bring sweets was bigger than my desire to control things.  And for reasons that elude me, Virginia would also frequently bring several quiches.  These are some of the random memories that make me smile right now.  

Not sure about the dark choice today, perhaps ginger.

xo
Debbi