I found this guy in his little sleeping bag on the south side of the house. Other than being fairly certain that it’s some kind of swallowtail, and absolutely certain that he’s alive in there (and very active when touched!) I don’t know who he is, or whether he intends to spend the winter there, but I’m nonetheless glad to see him!

Speaking of butterflies, though not swallowtails, I’m absolutely awash in Silver-spotted Skipper flutter-guys this year! I don’t know whether it’s the honeylocust (which has been there all along) or the partridge pea that seeded itself everywhere (some places it had to have got up and walked!), but there are sooooo many of these little dudes this year. They’re absolutely welcome, though; all flutter-guys are.

The Bistro looks a bit ragged about the edges, and most of the flowers have done their thing, and are currently very popular with the Goldisox, but the Jerusalem artichokes are making sure the flutter-guys and bees don’t go hungry even late in the season. Asters, too, of course, but these look so summery even though it’s practically autumn.