butterflies on payroll

it was one of those idyllic days.

we went on a hike on a perfectly sunny day. it got hot, so we took a dip in a lake fed by mountain streams. she swam across, i stayed at the edge catching mudbugs. or crayfish, or crawdaddies, whatever you will. it was as if all of nature was in our groove. we sat down on a tree stump on the bank of the lake & ate lunch. i dropped a little bit of the trail mix we were eating as a side dish, a chipmunk came out, nibbled on it, then stood for a while watching us watching him. a few minutes later, three chipmunks were there, they came right up to us. i named them: green bean, hazelnut & oliver. one of them broke into our backpack & had its way with a baggie full of snacks. i suspect it was oliver. we headed back & i needed to get some good shots of yarrow. i had harvested some a few days prior & didn't get a shot of it. it was one of the last things on my to-do list. and what do you know, there was a stand of yarrow, just above a rushing brook. so i took a picture. then this butterfly came along. and it hung out the whole time i took pictures. i mean really? butterfly? did you know that women with no contest to your good looks make millions showing up for a photo shoot & performing as well as you did? i look at these pictures & all i can think of is when jenelle said, of another equally idyllic picture from the week, is: "damn, that's almost perfect, all we need is some dolphins high-fiving in the back ground & forget about it!"