Miklas watched the butterfly through his optics.\u00a0 He was positive it was a Grizzled Alpine Skipper.\u00a0 It was not brightly colored-mostly grey and brown with small white spots, but Miklas appreciated its beauty nonetheless.\u00a0 How much better it is to see it live and in the wild rather than dead in a glass-topped case with a pin stuck through it, he thought.<\/p>\n
Miklas wished for a camera, or someone who could share the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cPyrgus Andromedae\u201d he whispered the name in a soft and reverential voice.\u00a0 He was used to being alone in the woods with no one to share his experiences.<\/p>\n
The night chill was starting to burn off.\u00a0 It was going to be a fine day, and the warmth had brought the Skipper out to feed.<\/p>\n
With practiced slowness, Miklas reached for the knob on his scope.\u00a0 He touched a dial and the reticle came into focus, giving the exact distance to the Skipper: ninety-eight meters.<\/p>\n
He wished he could walk over to study it in depth, remembering every detail from his study in the University.\u00a0 He knew he could not get to it before it flew away.\u00a0 The lovely brown and grey would give it undefeatable camouflage in the nearby bushes, and Miklas knew he would never find it.<\/p>\n
What good would it do anyway, he asked himself.\u00a0 Miklas could never bring himself to capture a butterfly.\u00a0 It was not a scientific specimen \u2013 it was a precious life, he once told a professor.\u00a0 Touching the scale-covered wings might panic it, and the Skipper could injure its wings trying to escape.<\/p>\n
No, it was better to stay here, watch, and enjoy the grace of the Grizzled Alpine Skipper in its natural environment.\u00a0 Miklas savored the transcendent moment as the Skipper flew and lit on another flower.\u00a0 The butterfly extended its proboscis into the blossom and drank the life-giving nectar. The antennae swayed in the soft morning breeze, and Miklas thought for a moment that he could make out the wing veins.\u00a0 He wished that his optics were better, but this was the best he could get from the company, and he was told that he would have to make do.\u00a0 Still, they left him alone to do his job, and whenever he could, he would steal these moments.<\/p>\n
Miklas heart pounded as a wasp darted past.\u00a0 He remembered that Skippers were prey for wasps, dragonflies, and other predators.\u00a0 It must not have seen his Skipper.<\/p>\n
Miklas thanked God that his Skipper was safe. Then he chuckled to himself, amused at his own pretension.\u00a0 His Skipper?\u00a0 He did not own the Skipper, as much as anyone could own a moment as rare and wonderful as a Grizzled Alpine Skipper on such a pristine morning.<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
Miklas adjusted his position, careful not to disturb the tranquility of the morning.\u00a0 With great care, He swung his sight over until the reticle\u2019s crosshairs rested on the face of a Serbian officer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBastard\u201d he exhaled, three pounds of pressure on the trigger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Miklas watched the butterfly through his optics.\u00a0 He was positive it was a Grizzled Alpine Skipper.\u00a0 It was not brightly colored-mostly grey and brown with small white spots, but Miklas appreciated its beauty nonetheless.\u00a0 How much better it is to see it live and in the wild rather than dead in a glass-topped case with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n