Remember when you were child and a test of balance was walking the thin line of a tire curb? I still enjoy doing this as an adult.
During my 15 minute breaks from my computer at work, I like to go for short walks to get some fresh air. The front of the building I work in has a nice curb that separates blacktop from lawn and rises about four or five inches off the ground and runs the length of the building (several hundred feet). Great balancing material! I like to go out and walk this length to clear my head and refocus. The curb kind of tilts back and forth (not perfectly flat), so it can be a bit of a challenge.
At the end of this run of curb is a sidewalk that leads to a pretty round flower bed filled with an assortment of flowers. I like to go here to see the different little butterflies and moths. Usually it's a pretty standard assortment, but today I got a special treat, a 2-3 inch long Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thisbe). It was absolutely magnificent! Unfortunately, we are not allowed to bring cameras into our building, so I couldn't get a picture of it, but I did find a nice one from the web that comes really close. Note the green hairs on the back and the translucent wings. It's easy to see how someone could confuse this with a real hummingbird at first glance. This moth has some real weight to it! Sometimes you see the greatest things on even the shortest of walks!
