There is no Blue...

 ...without yellow and without orange. ~~Vincent Van Gogh

Since I've been feeling blue without Baloo, I thought I would try channeling orange, which Frank Sinatra called "the happiest color".  The orange butterfly milkweed was a flower my mother loved. She kept trying to get it to grow in the yard, with only a small degree of success. It's growing wild along the roadside near the homestead these days and I can't help but think that she might have had a hand in getting it established in the area.

The next installment of orange is the small but ubiquitous American Copper butterfly.  It doesn't fly far off the ground (usually no more than two feet), but its a cheerful (and very active) little fellow, alighting for just a moment before flitting on to the next piece of grass or bit of moss.

Finally, I believe this bright beauty is the Great Spangled Fritillary. How can one help smiling at a winged marvel with such a magnificent name? 

The other possible contender was the Aphrodite Fritillary. They look very similar, but I think the markings on the underside of its wings make the identification of Great Spangled correct. Either way, it's quite lovely. I thought it was particularly interesting that the underside of the wing shows white spots where the upper side shows only black and orange - almost as magical as its name! Any lepidopterists out there can check my work and let me know if I got it right or not!