I was taking a picture of another butterfly on a different flower when the butterfly in the top picture flew into the frame and seemed to demand a picture be taken of him. I have been working hard to be patient and slow around butterflies as they fly off quickly if they sense I am there. They have a huge area of personal space. I was delighted to get this picture. I love butterflies as much as I love bird watching. I admire the way butterflies start out as crawling caterpillars and into a flying butterfly. Watching the two butterflies fly away together after allowing me to get their pictures got me to thinking about last night’s Mars Curiosity Landing.

Earlier in the spring and early summer I was outside almost every night watching Jupiter and Venus in the night sky. Then Mars joined the planets in the night sky along with Saturn. I am amazed that engineers and scientists put a rover on a planet that is a dot in the sky that I look up and enjoy most evenings. I sometimes wonder if the first people to dream of rockets and space travel got the ideas watching birds and butterflies and how the move through the air and wind.

A friend sent me the bottom picture of the full moon at dusk a few nights ago.
I am always looking up and dreaming be it at the butterflies, birds, moon, planets and stars.