Nature Moment

(shoe included for scale)

Isn't this moth magnificent? I wish I could take a decent picture, particularly because this visitor was as big as my hand. Perhaps Santa will bring me a better camera for Christmas.

Meanwhile, check out those antennae! Moths aren't as happy-go-lucky as butterflies, somehow. But amazement overcame any vague sense of creepiness once I spotted this guy/girl hanging out on the breezeway.

I think this is an Imperial moth. Although the pictures in my book don't match exactly, that's the closest photo i.d. I could find.

Feel free to correct me if you know more about the Lepidoptera family than I do.