Last gasp Frit Millpond

In attempting to put together each year's natural history phenology, I'm always on the lookout for the firsts and lasts of every species in my neighborhood. When it comes to Great Spangled Fritillary butterflies, which have been abundant since they first started to appear on June 10—there's a blog post, incidentally—I have written them off several times in September, but on each finis occasion, they've made a liar of me by reappearing, often on the next day. Perhaps this one, spotted in the goldenrods growing up in the abandoned grist mill's sluiceway, really marks The End. Certainly the guy has seen better days, and its wings are tattered and torn almost to the point of uselessness. But it could still somehow fly, and as I tried to move in for a more complete shot, it vaulted out of its hiding place behind a Poke leaf and fluttered, albeit with considerable effort and none of the usual grace, out of sight. Maybe this is the last one I'll see this year. Then again, give my track record, maybe not.