Our flowering quince in the side yard is in full bloom, and has drawn the attention of two early arriving Tiger Swallowtails.

This lovely female was flitting from one flower to another, rarely sitting still for long. Thankfully, she obliged me with a few shots with her wings folded up…

…and a couple more with her wings stretched wide. You can tell it’s a female by the deep blue band at the base of her wings

Her male counterpart was also busy flying about and feasting.

Occasionally, just when I got the Swallowtail framed and in focus, it would launch off and leave me with just a photo of the flowers; but hey, they are pretty all by themselves so I figured I’d go ahead and share one of the “missed shots!”

As I stood out there with my camera, I alternated between trying to take pictures and just simply enjoying the beauty. The combination of the butterflies and the blossoms really was gorgeous!