By David James

After weeks of gray, cold and wet weather, the sun shone in Yakima today, the 5th day of January and I took a walk at Snow Mountain Ranch. I was not expecting to see a butterfly, but there it was flying through the sunny patches and occasionally basking! A Milbert’s Tortoiseshell! This is the earliest in the year that I have spotted a butterfly in Yakima so I will take my January Tortoiseshell as an excellent omen for the butterfly year ahead! (Another one was spotted at Mima Mounds on Jan. 14 by Regina Johnson.)

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