December 22, 2011 @ 1:16 PM PST
Location: Mt Washington, Los Angeles, CA
It is currently unseasonably cold in Los Angeles, but the days are sunny. The wood pile in the front continues to be a magnet for Brush Footed Butterflies. This Mourning Cloak was soaking up the sun this afternoon. We first noticed it with its wings open, but by the time we got the camera, the critter got camera shy. In trying to coax it to open its wings for a photo (as well as to better soak up the sun) we merely managed to induce it to fly away. Recently this same wood pile served as a perch for Red Admirals.
