I was pulling out of my driveway yesterday to head to the grocery store (one of my least favorite tasks), and as I was backing out, I noticed a really beautiful black and yellow butterfly enjoying my crazy, wild Lantana.

My grocery list was long, but it had also been a while since I’d seen such a large, beautiful butterfly visiting my very own yard. I’m sure you can guess what happened next…

Yep…I pulled back into my garage, turned my car off, and ran in to grab my camera. Fortunately, my camera is almost always attached to my 70-200 ready to capture a photo of a passing bird, so I grabbed it and raced out front.

For 30-45 glorious minutes, I just followed this butterfly from flower to flower, taking pictures. What a wonderful treat. After looking at the pictures, and doing a bit of digging on Google, I am quite sure this is a Swallowtail Butterfly.

There are so many types of Swallowtails including the Giant Swallowtail, the Tiger Swallowtail, the Anise Swallowtail, and many more. I don’t have the faintest idea of how to narrow it down past Swallowtail.

Even so, it sure is beautiful, isn’t it? I’m especially happy that this all happened right in my own garden. I didn’t even have to go out hiking to get these photos.

This opportunity fell into my lap. I was so excited. Not just for the photos I got, but it also kept me from having to go to the grocery store. By the time my Swallowtail friend left, it was time to go get my kiddos from school.

Darn…guess the grocery shopping will have to wait. Sorry family…I promise to pick up some food items another day. What excuses do you use to get out of grocery shopping?

Oh…and don’t forget…superstitious people believe that seeing a butterfly is an indication of good luck to come. I’ll let you know how that turns out for me!

Until next time…