@NMoasis Zoë, thank you for all the photos you shared in this year's photo contest. You have some beautiful landscapes, your foliage photos were a delight to behold, animated birds always entertain. Now, as for your cactus photos, well, let's just say I've gotten stuck by thorns way too much. Anyway, of all your photos, this is the one that made me smile the biggest! Tomato blossoms - the promise of a tasty, juicy harvest - the reason I put up with a purple-glowing laundry room in January as I plant the seeds for the new season - the reason I fill my bathtub with pots of young tomato plants to protect them from the looming freeze - the reason I get on my hands and knees pulling weeds - all to see these lovely blooms, and know that tomatoes are on their way. You've done well with this photo to capture the light on the hairs of the stem. Thanks for sharing.

Lori, thank you for your generous and kind words. You too added generously to the quality of the submissions, and while I'm proud to say I voted for your most worthy foliage capture, your long-tailed skipper is the one that made me gasp. Congratulations!

I too was smitten with the long tailed skipper. The colors just shimmered on it. It is smallish in size, but big in impact.