Autumn in New England

  Is there anything prettier than a New England autumn?  The temperature is cooling, the days are getting shorter, and the leaves are just beginning to turn; scarlet, orange and gold framed against a crisp blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds.  I've been a little concerned that the foliage would be less than spectacular this year, as we've had some truly lousy weather this past summer, and quite a few of the trees were damaged after being munched on by insects.  But it looks as though we will be getting some color after all.

And, we had a delightful surprise visitor today.  This regal beauty was seen delicately sipping from our butterfly bush this afternoon in our backyard, posing just long enough for me to get in a few good shots.

 The past week or two, we've seen some tiny yellow butterflies, especially in the fields across the street when we take our dog Sunny for her walk.  They've been fluttering along, keeping us company along the way.  They're very pretty, but this butterfly was spectacular by comparison - quite large and brilliantly colored - probably on its way South for the winter.  Lucky bug!