These cold days are upon us, even though we reached 74 degrees Fahrenheit today in Eatonton, Georgia. A couple of hardy Cloudless Sulphur butterflies show themselves briefly, but this summers gangs of butterflies are absent.

Me? I fill this butterfly near vacuum with thoughts, thoughts of those amazing experiences I’ve enjoyed in the past.

He’s a fine male Allancastria Cerisyi seen several years ago near the village of Hanita, at the northeastern tip of Israel. I timed that trip to the HolyLand carefully. These rare, protected Parnassian butterflies fly briefly, fly only in April each year. They are only found near Hanita.

I stayed at the time with my family in Mishmarot, and drove my rental car to this area, at the Mediterranean Sea. I followed my map carefully, and . . . I found them!!

A special image this is for me, for only one in 10,000,000 Americans have ever seen A. Cerisyi. I enjoy dwelling on that, I do.

Jeff