Common Buckeye Butterfly (Junonia coenia) — Image by kenne
So, I begin researching articles on butterfly color and found “The evolution of color: How butterfly wings can shift in hue” in ScienceDaily. They found that buckeyes and other Junonia species can create a rainbow of structural colors simply by tuning the thickness of the wing scale’s bottom layer (the lamina), which creates iridescent colors in the same way a soap bubble does.
“In each Junonia species, structural color came from the lamina. And they are producing a big range of lamina thicknesses that create a rainbow of different colors, everything from gold to magenta to blue to green,” says first author Rachel Thayer. “This helps us understand how structural color has evolved over millions of years.” You can find more information structured color at Marine Biological Laboratory. (Please note, I’m a photographer, not a biologist.)
The great thing is not having a mind. Feelings: oh, I have those; they govern me. I have a lord in heaven called the sun, and open for him, showing him the fire of my own heart, fire like his presence. What could such glory be if not a heart? Oh my brothers and sisters, were you like me once, long ago, before you were human? Did you permit yourselves to open once, who would never open again? Because in truth I am speaking now the way you do. I speak because I am shattered.
The same wildflowers, a different spring. What matters is that it is spring. What matters is that they return each spring. What matters is each spring will be different. What matters most is that the same wildflowers always return with each different spring.
Not monsters at all, Gila monsters are one of the few species of venomous lizards on the planet. These carnivores are classified as near threatened and are native to the Sonoran Desert. We saw this lizard moving near and under desert bushes in the Saguaro National Park yesterday. Although these carnivores are classified as near threatened, they can be commonly seen this time of year scavenging for food after spending the winter underground.
I walked the trail passing clouds cast their shadows of dark gray on the mountains. All morning I pondered
the thought of a poem I may never write of this moment missing the words like the spring wildflowers
that never bloomed,
the land is bare
birds having migrated south to Mexico.
Black Swallowtail Photo Essay– Signs of Spring by kenne (Tohono Chul, Tucson AZ, February 24, 2018)
Desert springtime, with flowers popping up all over the place, trees leafing out, streams gushing down from the mountains. Great time of year for hiking, camping, exploring, sleeping under the new moon and the old stars. At dawn and at evening we hear the coyotes howling with excitement—mating season.
Two Leaves On A Bench — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Sonoran Desert Sunset — Photo-Artistry by kenne
A Spring Bouquet — Image by kenne
Desert Rosemallow (Hibiscus coulteri) — Image by kenne
Yarrow Wildflower (Achillea Millefolium) on Mt. Lemmon — Images by kenne
Del Sol Arches — HDR Image by kenne
Gila Monster — Image by kenne
Sabino Canyon Esperero Trail — Panorama by kenne
Wild Cotton Seed Pods Art by kenne
