A beer by the lake, blue birds and a butterfly

It was a beautiful night at Brian and Maria's place on Canadarago Lake. After several rainy days, we were blessed with some perfect holiday weather.

The only blue birds I see around here regularly are bluejays, but this spring a family of  Eastern bluebirds took over one of our birdhouses. Now I see them every day perched on the fence feeding their babies.

Last week what I thought was a bluebird, on closer inspection with the binoculars, was an indigo bunting and his mate. Quite exciting for this amateur birdwatcher!

It was worth the wait to see this Mourning Cloak butterfly open up. With his wings closed, he was just plain black and tan.