Beautiful visitor

This beautiful creature came to visit us over the weekend.  It hung out on the screen of the sliding glass door to the deck.  I noticed it out there and took several minutes to decide whether I should try to open the screen door to get to the other side in hopes of capturing a good picture of this winged one or whether I should try and heft my body up onto the deck from the outside.  Sore aching muscles from the previous days' garden fencing adventure won out and I carefully slid the screen door open.  My cautiousness was completely unnecessary.  It must have known that we were admiring it as it remained there, and once I was outside it posed nicely, opening its wings so that I could take its photograph.

This creature was not scared for anything.  My cats attempted on several occasions to jump onto the screen in hopes of capturing the insect on the other side of the screen, it remained.  Clattering of stainless steel bowls in front of the door, the dog bumping into the screen, even the impending storms did not chase away our pretty friend.  When the afternoon thunderstorms came around from the East, DH moved the creature from the front deck under the cover of the back porch so that it would remain safe.  The following morning it was gone.

Wildlife abounds on this farm.  Groundhogs play in and around the old dairy barn.  Deer run rampant.  Turkeys visit frequently although they never seem to come out of the woods during hunting hours.  Eagles have returned to the lake.  Herons and Mallards frequent the ponds along side the driveway.  Any nature of rodent live under, around and sometimes inside the house.  And sometimes they even stay for a while.