One of my favorite places to go is the park; almost any park will do. I love being with nature. One weekend recently we went to one of our usual parks. It has a big lake and a smaller lake with a grassy hill next to it. There's always some sort of wildlife to see. Egrets and herons love this park. We parked next to the smaller lake. It was a Saturday morning, and it was already bright and sunny and getting warmer. As I walked towards the lake, I spotted a Great Egret standing on the water's, and even closer to the end of the pond I was at, a great blue heron swooped in, landing majestically on the other side.

I love herons, and birds of all kinds. I watched the heron for a moment and snapped a few pictures. I continued toward a bench that sat near the water. Across the lake two men were fishing. The park was so peaceful, everything was slow and relaxed, just like a Saturday morning should be.

I approached the bench and sat down. My husband was already on the bench. I sat there in the sun, it was hot, but I didn't mind. The sky was bright blue, and the sunlight was lighting up the grass in vibrant shades of green. From looking at it, you wouldn't believe it was fall; in Florida, it was still summer, vibrant and green as ever. But maybe one thing was different I looked in front of me, and there was a White Peacock butterfly (Anartia jatrophae), either butterflies were becoming more common in this season, or I was just noticing them more.

Whit Peacock Butterfly feeding.Corrinne Brubaker

The white peacock butterfly is white on the inner parts of its wings which have three distinct black dots on each wing. After that are brown and orange stripes around the edge of its wings. At first glance, it may seem simple, but it's a beautiful and detailed butterfly. I left the bench to get a closer look. It was feeding on daisies that had mostly lost their pedals already, but apparently not their nectar. The daisies surrounded a palm tree that was in front of the bench.

As I watched this one and took some pictures, I noticed there were many more butterflies feeding on this little patch of daisies. There were other white peacock butterflies, and there was also another butterfly that was slightly smaller and had more orange than white, but it was just as intricate and beautiful. They were much harder to get a picture of because they moved their wings so fast. Later I identified the butterfly; it's named Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon).

I watched the butterflies fly around this little plant patch for a while. Then I looked at the grassy hill that was adjacent to the lake, and I noticed a few butterflies fly amidst the grass. I panned my eyes across the hill and the closer I looked I saw more White Peacock and Phaon Crescent butterflies, hundreds of them covering the hill.

I pointed them out to my husband in excitement. He too was amazed when he realized how many there were. I walked up the hill and got a closer look. I was sure the hot sun was burning my skin by now, but I had to watch them a moment longer. They were flying all over the grass, feeding on the nectar from little clover flowers that were in bloom. Finally, I was able to get close to one of the Phaon Crescent butterflies that sat still enough on a clover to get a clear picture. It turned out beautifully, and I was satisfied. I didn't want to leave but had to get back to the shade.

Later as I looked back through my pictures, I noticed that one of the shots I got was of the front of the Phaon Crescent. You could see it's long tongue curled in a spiral under its mouth.

The front of a Phaon Crescent. You can see its face and curled up tongueCorrinne Brubaker

You could see all the little hairs on its face. It's amazing how intricate these creatures are when you take a moment to look closer and notice them, and I'm glad I did. It was a spectacular sight that I will never forget, and I hope to see more of these little beauties.