Yesterday was a butterfly day. I saw a monarch, an eastern swallowtail, and this butterfly:
It wasn’t an eastern swallowtail. It wasn’t a black swallowtail. But it was some sort of swallowtail. So I did some research. It’s an anise swallowtail and I’ve never seen one before. Simply gorgeous. He/she was hanging around the coneflowers at the side of the house and I was able to get pretty close. Thank you, sweet butterfly.
We also saw a very young fawn gallop across our front lawn as we stood on our front porch. No adult in sight, so I assume the fawn was running to mama. So, so beautiful and graceful.
The catbirds have built a nest in our big bush in the front garden bed. I’ve been watching them fly back and forth for weeks. Catbirds, as I’ve mentioned before, love taking baths and they are by far our most frequent visitors to the birdbath. We were joking the other day that when they were looking for a place to build a nest, they must have thought “Bonus! There’s a bath a few feet away!”
Mourning doves were building a nest in the catalpa but I think they decided, in the end, to build elsewhere.
And I saw our little groundhog dining on the grass.
The humidity has dropped, though it’s still going to reach 90 degrees today. Both Don and I woke up around 4:30 am this morning. Crap. So I’ll most likely be mowing and cleaning the porch so that I keep busy. Otherwise, I’ll just be moaning about being tired all day and that gets old real fast.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
Your butterfly pictures are so beautiful! Thank you for sharing, Claudia.
You’re very welcome, Judy!
Just think how lucky you are to be able to see all the natural wildlife!! A major blessing in today’s world!
It surely is, Priscilla. Stay safe!
Seeing the beautiful pictures of your butterflies I’m reminded of a favorite book of mine, A Girl Of The Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter. The main character was devoted to butterflies and all they brought to her life. Your pictures are so detailed I feel I’m there with you admiring them. Thanks for all you share. Stay safe and I’m glad Don is on the mend.
Oh, that’s a childhood favorite. I have two copies, one quite old, of it on my bookshelf!
Thanks, Janet.
Stay safe!
more incredible photos, claudia … thank you!
and i am sure that beautiful butterfly knew it was safe around you. :)
i had a little butterfly experience yesterday. at the end of the day, as i got in my car and sat down, all of a sudden i sensed something was there and moving. it looked huge out of the corner of my eye as it moved up to the left side of my head. i screamed as i tried to get the door open and then laughed and said “thank you” when i saw it was a monarch that flew out and away. haha!
happy for you and don to be able to see so much flora and fauna (in great part to your hard work and welcoming beliefs) … a wonderful antidote to problems in the world. i live a block away from the entrance to a park and know there’s a lot of deer and other creatures in there and i can usually see some if i walk down there. my sister took a photo of six deer on the lawn of my building a couple years ago (waiting to pick me up for church) and i was glad for her to have that experience. the closest i’ve got at my place was finding a frog in the garage. thankfully, my landlord rescued him. :)
good luck with the chores. hope you sleep better tonight and keep cool.
i woke up about 4:00 this morning and thought i could cancel my alarm clock because it was saturday. slept until my alarm went off and then thought, “i’m so glad it’s friday!” haha! i should follow your plan of staying busy.
stay safe!
kathy in iowa
Love monarchs!
I didn’t stay busy enough as it was really hot out there so I couldn’t mow!
Maybe tomorrow.
Stay safe!
Claudia, Oh that beauty of a butterfly. Such amazing detail. We’ve had a lot in our gardens this year as well. Love to follow them as they don’t seem to mind my company. The hot/sticky weather is now in Michigan for a while. My flowers are going crazy now. Our daughter is getting married late August and we were hoping to make her bouquet with mamas flowers, all on the wild side. Like you, I wish I could stop them from blooming out just yet. Some may be of use. I did order fresh on line as backup. Very small wedding of 25 ish people but still worried about being together. It was supposed to take place in April, but had to be cancelled. I would prefer to wait until next spring, but not my call. Will do our best to put safety measures ahead of wanting to embrace. As early seniors I will be diligent. Take care.
Congrats on your daughter’s upcoming wedding, but DO stay safe, Penny!
It sounds like “a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” Clearly your swallowtail was and is beautiful — and so are the beautiful photos. Every detail is in focus!
I hope Don’s Lyme test and going in was good. I’m so glad you can come home to this beautiful natural world.
It was quite easy. No one else at the doctor’s office. He was in and out quickly. I don’t know when we’ll get the results.
Stay safe, Jeanie.
What a beautiful butterfly (and pictures)!! They are plentiful this year, but I have never seen that one, either. Nature truly is wonderful. As someone else said, the butterflies are fun to watch because they don’t seem very skittish when we are close to them and the flowers. Such fun to watch them dance amongst the blooms.
We have our air on again. It just can’t seem to break the humidity up yet. Weather people keep saying upper 70’s & low 80’s for the weekend into next week. Oh, how I hope they are correct!
We did have to put the air on around 1:00, as it was really hot – though not humid. I’m sure the humidity will be back very soon!
Stay safe, Chris.
Groundhog, butterflies, birds, flowers and a fawn. A red-letter day!
Yes, indeed!
Stay safe, Vicki!
Lovely photos and wonderful nature to get our mind off the ugly things going on in our world.
The news makes me so cross with all the selfish people who don’t care about the older people in aged care facilities who are dying from this virus – because of the selfish lying people who don’t care and won’t stay home or who continue to go to work when they have the virus – some even lie on statutory declarations and others won’t follow police or army personnel requests who are guarding state borders.
Had a great picnic with my good friend.
Same thing is going on here. It’s disgusting.
Stay safe, Robyn!
That swallowtail is amazing! Your photos are the essence of full blown summer. XO. I was able to get access to the mini information, thank you. I’m having such fun looking for Art Deco items, wall papers, flooring, and decor. Right now I have my heart set on a funky Deco green wood kitchen set and a pink or teal tiled deco bath. The search is part of the fun, as you know. Wishing you and Don continued good health.
The search is a great part of the fun! I love it when I’m in dollhouse mode because I make periodic forays into eBay and Etsy.
Stay safe, Nora! (I love that deco furniture you chose from Arlette’s shop!
I think we had your butterfly a few days ago (also on a coneflower), a little ways up north from you, & I had never seen one before either. Thank you for the gorgeous pix & the ID! Btw, we love love love ‘our’ catbird…the kids & I have named it ‘bubble squeak’ for its lovely songs throughout most of July, which have just in the last couple of days, tapered off. Sigh. Now we are happily listening to an insistent and adorable Carolina wren. Birds are the best!
Catbirds are a lot of fun! I get a real kick out of them. Yes, I think we’re near the time when we hear less birdsong and that always makes me sad.
Thank you, Naomi! Stay safe.