bridal wreath and crane fly

I’ve seen spirea shrubs coming into flower before, but this Bridal Wreath Spirea in our neighbor Km’s yard caught my eye . . . . Just as the white flower buds began to open up, the large previous-growth leaves took on a gorgeous purplish-red color. Much brighter than in my sketch, but I am still sticking with the muted earth-color palette that I began this journal with, shown below.

I added a scribbled crane fly — they are rather hard to miss lately, flying around outside . . . and even in our houses! Known around here as a mosquito hawk, they do not actually kill mosquitoes (as is popularly believed), nor do they bite or sting.