Lately I've been noticing how many different kinds of butterflies visit the bushes outside the house that were planted for them. They dance in the fields nearby, and flutter over the mint blossoms and dill and parsley, but they love to gather for a party on the butterfly bushes. Aside from these beauties, there are monarchs starting to show up the past few days, the caterpillers of which recently dined on dill.The little white and yellow sulphurs (I think that's what they're called) are everywhere, and tiny little azure blues that surely are often mistaken for fairies seem to love the mint. Not all of them are brave enough to be photographed, unfortunately.
At some point, I'll drag out one of my field guides and learn their names, but for now its so much fun to watch them dip, swirl, and dart around looking for nectar. Yesterday I watched a bumblebee emerge from a marshmallow flower so drenched in pollen that he could scarcely manage to fly.There was a time when I thought only the most majestic of these bugs were really pretty, but have come to think the most mundane are equally impressive.
Hopefully I'll add to this in the days to come as more and more of these gorgeous creatures show up at the nectar "watering hole".
And thankfully (!!!!) high speed has reached my area. Moving here was easy, going back to dial-up was rough. On top of all the other things that now take forever on this "machine", blogging pictures is hit or miss, with the pictures sometimes not showing up. One more week, and I join the rest of the world again!
