I once gave my mother a framed dead beetle. It was a framed and under glass dead Chinese beetle. I found it at Mall of America in a store filled with butterflies. This was not among her belongings when we cleaned out her apartment after her death. Just goes to show that it's really tough to find a present for a person who has everything and wants nothing. And that I might have been better off choosing a butterfly instead.
Apart from Monarch butterflies, which were abundant in Minnesota while I was growing up, and the yellow Swallowtail butterflies I see in northern California, I know very little about butterflies. I know that the Monarchs fly to Mexico every year for winter, and that global warming is killing them off. And some caterpillars are smoking hookah. But that's about the extent of my butterfly knowledge.
I came across this butterfly a few days ago in Land Park, Sacramento. Dubbed it the inside-out butterfly. That's because its wings on the outside are a different color and pattern than the inside. The outside of this butterfly is like stained glass. The inside is bright orange.
This meant all work came to a screeching halt while I researched the identity of this butterfly. See, this is what happens when you start looking at birds through binoculars and you pay attention to the world of nature around you. It's here every single day but we ignore it. I used to think that all the birds in my yard were brown. They are actually yellow and green and blue and red. Go look for yourself.
As a Sacramento short sale agent, my nose is buried in my computer half of the time. The other half I am going to closings or taking short sale listings.
But today I share with you a Gulf Fritillary Malachite butterfly. You would not think you'd find a Gulf Fritillary in Sacramento, but they are here.
Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub, BlackBerrry BOLD
---
Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
Disclaimer: If this post contains a listing, information is deemed reliable as of the date it was written. After that date, the listing may be sold, listed by another brokerage, canceled, pending or taken temporarily off the market, and the price could change without notice. It could blow up, explode or vanish. To find out the present status of any listing, please go to elizabethweintraub.com.
I built my bug and butterfly loving wife a huge arbor in the backyard just for butterflies. It is covered with a maypop vine that is a host plant for the Gulf Fritillary. We have been covered up with them this year and yes, they are beautiful.
Hi Andrew: This butterfly was resting on vines with white star-like flowers. It wasn't jasmine or honeysuckle because the white flowers were too big.
That is a colorful butterfly. It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it.
Very pretty, Elizabeth! Glad to see you took a little time for yourself today!!!! You deserve it!