A Little Bit Of Orange

October is traditionally the month people everywhere begin to experience autumn. Temperatures turn cooler. Leaves begin to change colors. The world seems brighter and fresher. There's Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner - holidays, friends, families, gifts, good food.

Here in Florida we dream of the same things, but we approach them a little differently because for the most part we don't have the traditional autumn. Any true Floridian knows how the air feels "different" when you get to the end of October. Our idea of a fall temperature is 73 (F) for a high and 59 for a low. (Trust me. When your summer temperatures are 95 (F) or higher with a humidity of 90%, then 73 feels pretty good!) Our fall color isn't usually leaves, but flowers, and we sigh realizing the grass has finally quit growing.

And then there's the decorations...

Floridians make up for their lack of autumn color by redecorating the front stoop. Out come all the plastic and silk autumn flower wreaths saved from last year and the years before that. The truly creative Floridian will buy an actual pumpkin from a church pumpkin lot or a potted mum from the grocery store. Outwardly nothing has really changed. The oak trees are still green. The sky is still blue. But there is now that little bit of orange to make it "feel" like autumn.

So I went out this year to find my spot of orange, and in my quest I came across a butterfly. Butterflies are plentiful here. Certain species can be seen year round. If you plant the right flowers, you can have fluttering wings of a multitude of colors right in your garden. But the butterfly I found this day was orange.

Phaon Crescent Butterfly

It was no matter to me that it was only about 2 inches across, that it was in the green grass, underneath a blue, sunny sky. It was orange, and I am now satisfied. Winter can come with it's 50 degree temperatures because I will just bundle up in my sweater and smile. Autumn came for me in the form of a small orange butterfly.

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Suzanne Williams Photography
Florida, USA

Suzanne Williams is a native Floridian, wife, and mother, with a penchant for spelling anything, who happens to love photography.