This eastern pine elfin came out of the woods to feast on the mass of dandelions in our backyard this year. The grass is quite tall, and full of bees, butterflies, and tiny Savannah Sparrows.

I have never been sure if these are really wild, or if they escaped a garden that used to be here. However they got here, I love them and look forward to the first blossoms each year.

One of the many bees working the flowers this week. A few bumblebees were so large that the dandelions bent to the ground when they landed. More photos coming  later.

I am just back from a walk in the woods. The temperature today is around 60, but we still have snow banks in the shadowed places under the trees. I couldn’t believe it when I saw this butterfly fluttering along the path. Last year, in the same area, I saw quite a few mourning cloaks, but that was on May 9th. Hope this one makes it–I think it came out of hibernation way too early.

I am all done with my calendar for this year’s Christmas. iPhoto does a great job and offers lots of different templates and colors. Most of my pages are single shots, but two and three shot set ups are available in the template I used. All the information for birthdays and other occasions we observe is sent over automatically from iCal, another program I have on my Mac computer. This is the second year I have made calendars and have already decided that next year’s calendar will be herbs.
Here is a page from inside-

A small scene caught in the garden.

I wish I had focused on the butterfly instead of the flower.

I took these shots yesterday at my friend’s farm in Phippsburg, Maine. Her asters were covered with monarch butterflies, and every one of them in perfect condition. I have more photos from the garden she and her husband’s beautiful garden to post tomorrow, so come back and look!