A rainy Saturday morning postponed our usual ride until Sunday with the weather bringing us a spectacular day for riding—sunny and comfortable with temperatures in the low 70s.  Another indication summer is ending, and autumn is arriving.

            Because it was Sunday our day to relax, we took a relaxed approach to the ride.  No slow speed or tricky maneuvers; just cruising about and enjoying the sights.  There was a rather ominous start to our ride.  As we mounted the motorcycles to begin, a turkey buzzard was circling close above us.  I snapped a picture of the bird which seemed no more than twenty feet above us, but I couldn’t focus the camera too well in my helmet, so the buzzard looks too small in the frame.  I’ll just point out that the buzzard was close enough to us that I looked around for what it might be seeking to snack on.  Luckily for me, I didn’t spot anything.

            The buzzard floating above us as we got started but soon spiraled out of sight.  I spied some harvest themed decorations—scarecrow and small pumpkins.  One person with a sense of humor had a skeleton set out on his steps waving at passersby.  These decorations were spotted early in the ride, and I was hopeful I would see more.  But it is too early in September and too far from Halloween for most people to decorate.  There are more and more political candidate signs appearing, but those aren’t very much fun.

            I was happily surprised to see a number of butterflies out on this Sunday afternoon.  I even pondered if butterflies and nature in general “slept in” on Sundays.  My first butterfly encounter was with a low-flying black swallowtail that passed by in front of the car windshield as I drove over to the garage.  I actually hit my brakes to keep the butterfly off my windshield.  I then spotted a yellow Sulphur flying over my parents’ yard as we unloaded the gear.

            During the ride, I saw three cabbage white butterflies along the curvy road.  I then spotted what I think was an Atlantis fritillary butterfly before spying another black swallowtail.  One tiny butterfly flew up by my helmet, and from the coloring I think it might have been a ceraunus blue butterfly, but it went by too fast to see the black spot.  I saw a couple more yellow Sulphurs and began wondering if I’d ever in my life seen a pink butterfly.  There is a species called the pink-edged Sulphur and a phaon crescent butterfly, but I don’t think I’ve ever spotted one.

            I enjoyed my relaxing, butterfly-filled ride.  I know I soon won’t see any butterflies until next spring, so I’m glad they seemed to be out in force during this ride.  And I look forward to whatever sights I can see next week as I ride.