A BEAUTIFUL VISITOR

There are no swirling mists today, no thunder and lightning. It is dark, slate grey with the occasional downpour. It is hard to breathe. The dogs howl in unison, my own sentiments, exactly. In between showers, a few fuzzy orange bumble bees emerge to patrol the rosemary, blooming again. And then I saw this. My camera is not fast enough to do a better job, nor am I. It is a hummingbird hawk moth.

I copied this from Wiki: The Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) is a species of Sphingidae. Its long proboscis and its hovering behavior, accompanied by an audible humming noise, make it look remarkably like a hummingbird while feeding on flowers. It is theorised that this resemblance is a result of convergent evolution. It flies during the day, especially in bright sunshine, but also at dusk,[1] dawn, and even in the rain, which is unusual for even diurnal hawkmoths.[2] Its visual abilities have been much studied, and it has been shown to have a relatively good ability to learn colours.[3]

Well, there you are, what more can I say? I was going to treat you to an essay on tomatoes, their history and uses but that can wait for another day.