An Unusual Year

By the end of July my photographic library usually has a myriad of colorful photos of the butterflies that grace the gardens.  This year they are few and far between. Perhaps it was the many March snowstorms or the early heat followed by a cold snap.  Maybe it is the lack of some larval foods as seven oaks fell during a wind storm. 

But last week a few began to appeared.  It led me on a quest to locate their caterpillars.  A of today I am raising six monarch and six black swallowtail caterpillars.  I hope to help increase the population!

Cabbage white on white cone flower

Red admiral on pink cone flower

 

Monarch on pink cone flower

Silver-spotted skipper on white cone flower

Black swallowtail caterpillar on dill

Mature Black swallowtail caterpillars on dill

Beauty in the Details

Look closely and see what is often overlooked…

Three simple eyes that guide a bee to its nest

Five eyes of a Carpenter bee

Feet with suction cups that allow security when holding tightly to a leaf

Caterpillar on goldenrod leaf

A discarded skin that nourishes the body

Black swallowtail caterpillar eating its shed skin

A covering that allows flight

Feathers of a Mourning dove

Hundreds of individual petals that make up a whole

Sweeping vistas may be astounding but let us never ignore the beauty in the often overlooked 

Butterflies Bees and Toads

A two-day heat wave with temperatures above 90 degrees gave way to a balmy weekend with cooler nights and 80 degree days.

Creatures who had taken a mid-day siesta were now out  and about enjoying the afternoon.

Some were sunning

Some were eating

and some appeared to be lost in thought.

Even after dusk sun-baked bricks kept night feeding creatures warm as they hunted their prey.