breathe, just breathe
come and rest at my feet
and be, just be…Continue Reading
Home and Recuperation
Home and Recuperation… From my resting spot on the sofa, butterflies, hummingbirds and fritillaries have put on a lovely show as I watch through the window.
Butterflies
Happy Sunday! I think butterflies are fascinating! When a swallowtail butterfly landed on a cone flower in my garden it reminded me of a Bible verse. A cheerful Heart is good medicine from Proverbs 17:22Continue Reading
All God’s Creatures
The end of August and into September is a busy time in the garden. Butterflies flutter by from flower to flower like the Monarch butterfly.
Yesterday a butterfly…
Butterfly poem ~ Author Unknown
Think on These Things ~ Set Free
Butterflies and Moths
I have not seen as many butterflies this year as in past years.
Usually I would have a least two or three at the butterfly bush at any given moment but not this year.
While walking Raider a couple of nights ago, John called for me to see this large nighttime moth visiting the cleome.
Only a guy could get so excited about a moth!
“Did you see that long proboscis?”
“Sure, Honey. Really cool!”
Monarch Butterflies
Our grandson, Jared, was walking our dog around the house and came running in to tell me about all of the monarch butterflies on my ‘pink flowers’. He was right! I had never seen so many monarch butterflies at one time. They were flitting all over the yard at each grouping of Sedum.Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillar
 See what I found on my parsley? A colorful swallowtail caterpillar.
Once it is old enough, it will form a chrysalis. It will overwinter in the chrysalis, meaning it won’t hatch into an adult until Spring. Next year this caterpillar will be a beautiful eastern black swallowtail butterfly.
Once it is old enough, it will form a chrysalis. It will overwinter in the chrysalis, meaning it won’t hatch into an adult until Spring. Next year this caterpillar will be a beautiful eastern black swallowtail butterfly.
Butterflies
The gardens are busy places this time of year.
Full of critters (wanted and unwanted), birds and all sorts of flying insects.
Here are a few shots of butterflies on the buddleia bush.
This swallowtail has a damaged wing. Butterflies have many predators including ants, spiders, wasps, parasitic wasps, parasitic flies, birds, rats, toads, lizards, praying mantis, snakes and monkeys. Their damaged wings do not seem to impede their mobility as I see them fluttering about just as though the wings were perfect.
Butterfly Wishes
Yesterday a butterfly
Came floating gently through the sky.
He soared up through the atmosphere
Then drifted close enough to hear.
I said, “I’d love to fly with you
And sail around the way you do.
It looks like it would be such fun
To fly up toward the summer sun.
But I have not your graceful charm.
I haven’t wings, just these two arms.
I’ve been designed to walk around.
My human feet must touch the ground.
Then magically he spoke to me
and told me what his wish would be.
He said, “What I’d love most to do
Is walk upon God’s Earth with you,
To squish it’s mud between my toes
Or touch my finger to my nose.
I’d love just once to walk around
With human feet to touch the ground,
But I have not two legs that swing,
I haven’t arms, just these two wings.”
And so we went our separate ways
In wonder and surprise.
For we’d both seen God’s precious gifts
Through someone else’s eyes.
Author Unknown
This frontal view shows clearly the feeding mechanism which is a long double barreled tube called a proboscis. Because butterflies feed through what is essentially a double barreled straw, their diets are exclusively liquids.
The same butterfly from a different angle.
Here are the stats on the first shot (the other photos are similar)
Camera Canon EOS Digital Rebel
Exp: 1/320
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 400
Flash: not used
Editing: Slight cropping, bumped up contrast a bit and slight sharpening of image.
Butterfly Wishes
Butterfly Wishes
Yesterday a butterflyCame floating gently through the sky.He soared up through the atmosphereThen drifted close enough to hear.
I said, “I’d love to fly with youAnd sail around the way you do. It looks like it would be such fun To fly up toward the summer sun.
But I have not your graceful charm.I haven’t wings, just these two arms.I’ve been designed to walk around.My human feet must touch the ground.
Then magically he spoke to meand told me what his wish would be.
He said, “What I’d love most to doIs walk upon God’s Earth with you,
To squish it’s mud between my toes
Or touch my finger to my nose.
I’d love just once to walk around
With human feet to touch the ground,
But I have not two legs that swing, I haven’t arms, just these two wings.”
And so we went our separate waysIn wonder and surprise.For we’d both seen God’s precious gifts
Through someone else’s eyes.
Author Unknown
(see… like I said, if you grow it they will come!)
Thank you, Joy (Good Morning Mary Sunshine) for identifying this butterfly as a Red Spotted Purple ~ limentis arthemis astyanxy. So kind of you to look this up for me!
If You Grow It They Will Come – Buddleia Bush
My main reason for growing Buddleia (better known as a Butterfly Bush) is not for its appearance but rather because it attracts beautiful, fluttering, butterflies.
I took these pictures yesterday of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The bush was filled with tiny Fritillaries or Skippers (I get them confused) as well but they are small and flit about so that I was unable to get a picture of them.
Some other visitors ~ a Monarch
Do you know what this little guy is?
It is not a hummingbird…
it is a Hummingbird Moth enjoying the nectar of the Butterfly Bush!
Our hummers do visit as well.
It is not a hummingbird…
it is a Hummingbird Moth enjoying the nectar of the Butterfly Bush!
Our hummers do visit as well.
I don’t know its lifespan, but this bush has been in our yard for many years!
The following is an excerpt from Buddleia: Butterfly Bush Extraordinaire by Claire Hagen Dole:
With a name like butterfly bush, you might expect a plant to be attractive to butterflies. In fact, it’s more than attractive; it’s a magnet for all the butterflies who pass through your garden seeking nectar. Many butterfly gardeners plan their garden around Buddleia (pronounced BUD-lee-ah), a genus that includes over 100 species and cultivars. Also called summer lilac, the medium- to large-sized shrubs can anchor a perennial bed or form a hedge. You’ll be happier with Buddleia if you accept its growth habit, which is not neat and tidy. Its narrow branches support lilac-like clusters of blossoms a foot or two in length, with side branches and blossoms. After a rainfall, the flower-laden branches of some species can droop all over your flower bed. You’ll want to allow at least six feet between bushes to keep some semblance of neatness. But wait till you see the bush covered with fritillaries and tortoiseshells! Even a large swallowtail can land on the cluster, to sip from the many individual blooms. Butterflies and bees will flock to the honey-scented blossoms, whose dilute nectar is sweetest in midday sun. Near a path or patio, the shrub provides delightful fragrance for you, too.