234/365: "We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort." ~ Jesse Owens

5 more pictures in notes above!

About a month ago, I found a butterfly on our property that I'd never seen before, a California Hairstreak. I managed to get a few nice pictures but unfortunately my dof was not deep enough to include the entire butterfly in crisp focus. I was a bit sad about that, since I didn't know when I'd get the chance to take more pictures of these beautiful little butterflies.

Yesterday I was discovered another patch of milkweed flowers, and these are very healthy and doing well with bright green leaves and flowers which are only now peaking with many more to bloom. Wonderful news for me, because I am raising Clio Tiger Moth caterpillars and they are eating like pigs! I have begun to worry if I would be able to find enough leaves for them, since the other plants I know of are starting to die. Finding this new patch has filled me with great relief because there will be enough food for my oinker-pillars! :)

Another thing that I love about this patch is that it's very close to the house, and today I went over with my camera to see the visitors, and I saw the very butterfly I'd been hoping to find!!!! This time I was very careful to choose more aperture settings to be sure I'd get a nice selection in focus. I also made sure to move around to the side of the butterfly that the sun was hitting instead of staying on the side which was shadowed.

Helen Adams Keller (June 27, 1880 – June 1, 1968) was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. The story of how Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through the isolation imposed by a near complete lack of language, allowing the girl to blossom as she learned to communicate, has become widely known through the dramatic depictions of the play and film The Miracle Worker. Her birthday on June 27 is commemorated as Helen Keller Day in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and was authorized at the federal level by presidential proclamation by President Jimmy Carter in 1980, her 100th birthday. Wikipedia: Jesse Owens

Explored on August 23, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#39).