Butterflies, Butterflies, Butterflies

The butterfly bushes are blooming.

Tiger Swallowtail

Tiger Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Tiger Swallowtails

Black Swallowtail

Zebra Swallowtail

Zebra Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

No One Expects...

The Spanish Inquisition (unless you're a Monty Python fan.)

Gloria was out on the patio with her camera this afternoon while I was in my den starting to study for a professional certification.

Between the heat this week, and the studying, I haven't had a chance to get many pictures - or even spend much time enjoying the gardens and the wildlife.  So, I'm happy to have some new pictures to post from the yard.

We've seen this guy, but haven't had a camera handy.  But this afternoon we caught him in the act,

despite his best efforts to look innocent and deny everything.

The evidence was overwhelming.

After he cleared out, the buffet went back to business as usual.

And a little more down to earth, things were hopping too.

All pictures thanks to my wife Gloria.

A Bounty of Butterflies

It seems like everyone tries to attract butterflies (and hummingbirds.)  We have four butterfly bushes along the back fence, and they're living up to their name.  We chose them because we know they are fast growing and we were looking for something to act as a natural screen in front of the chain fence across the top of the hill in the back yard. We were looking for privacy fencing and counted the butterflies as a bonus.

The bonus has come calling this summer.

I recognize the Eastern Tiger Swallowtails - the yellow ones - but I don't know what the dark visitor is called.  Here are a couple more shots to show off his vivid colors at the wingtips.

If anybody recognizes him, please leave a comment and tell me what he is.

Meanwhile in another corner of the yard, a neighbor had his own agenda:

He wasn't interested in sharing his dinner with anyone.

Colors of the Season

These are just some of the colors of the season in my yard today.

This evening they were joined by some bright red fresh sliced tomatoes and toasty brown pan-fried crab cakes on fresh rolls from the farmers market this morning.

The peppers will be peeled and canned (whatever doesn't get eaten first - sliced up into salads or on sandwiches.) 

Early July Garden Visitor

I'm trying to make a habit of regularly taking panoramic pictures of the big garden on the back hill, to have a record through the season of what's blooming when.  I was out taking a series of pictures for early July when I spotted a visitor to the butterfly bushes along the fence.  I had my camera on the tripod, so I was able to move in part way and use the full zoom of the camera and still get some sharp pictures.

We've got 4 butterfly bushes against the back fence. We had one in a previous house and know that they grow big quickly, so we decided to use them for natural screening.

It's an extra bonus that the screening attracts such wonderful visitors. This guy stayed around and let me get about a dozen pictures of his summer glory out in the afternoon sun.  I haven't gotten any pictures yet of a couple of chipmunks that we're seen playing in the yard and on the patio.  But, I was able to get a video of a baby rabbit who came to join our cookout a few weeks ago.  

For now I'm going to work on stitching together the panoramic shots I took to add today's status to the library of pictures for this summer.

Bye.