I drove up to my cabin yesterday. My first official visit of the season. I could not drive all the way in. Snow remains knee-deep over much of the landscape there.
In spite of the snow, spring is
having its way. The pussy willows along
the creek, though still standing in snow themselves, have put forth their
tufts. More surprising, I saw two
mourning cloak butterflies flapping out across the mostly snow-covered meadow.
We make ‘em tough here in Montana.
Adult mourning cloak butterflies overwinter in a frozen condition and emerge when the days are sunny and warm enough. They will eat tree sap, fermenting fruit, and feed on flower nectar (once flowers emerge).
Pussy Willow
Mourning Cloak (Photo: Pavel
Kirillov)
— Mitchell Hegman
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