Saturday, August 16 was just perfect. You know the type of day where the sun is warm but not blazingly hot and there's a gentle, cool breeze that doesn't have a drop of humidity in it. Days where no one has their A/C on, except that weird family you never see with their windows open and you're not sure they're human. Where even your black dog doesn't mind laying on the cool green grass out in the sun to grab a quick snooze, instead of seeking the deepest shade so she doesn't spontaneously catch fire. You know a perfect day.
Well, we just had one of those perfect days you normally get in late spring not mid-August. And I finally, got to see some butterflies including a monarch. I haven't seen a monarch butterfly for several years. They've probably been around but not in my yard. So this year I planted some milkweed to see if that would help. The milkweed has been blooming since May when I planted it and absolutely nothing has found it except the milkweed aphids. No butterflies. Zip. Nothing. Not one winged creature until now.
On Saturday, I saw four eastern tiger swallowtails, a hummingbird moth and finally a monarch. The monarch went right to the milkweed, while the eastern tiger went to the verbena. The monarch fluttered about the flowering stems, while I snapped pictures from about 5 feet away and I didn't know she was laying eggs until the saw the picture with her abdomen wrapping up under one of the leaves of the milkweed. I don't know how many eggs she laid but I'm hoping to see a few caterpillars.
According to Google, I can try to get rid of the aphids by squishing them or blowing them off with water or trying a bug B Gone spray but others say to leave them. The monarch caterpillar may actually eat the little protein crunchies as snacks. Who knows? Maybe I'll take a picture of a caterpillar eating one.
I also got several good pictures of the tiger swallowtail on my purple verbena. I love how its little proboscis is covered in pollen and the dark purple and green really make the yellow butterfly stand out nicely.
And of course, since it was such a nice day, I took a picture of one of the darker sunflowers that bloomed. It was nice of the deer to leave me a few so I figured I better photograph it. This is the first year I've planted sunflower seeds and a lot came up but they are definitely on the deer's menu. No wonder the doe around here are having triplets. Its not a huge flower but its still pretty.
According to Google, I can try to get rid of the aphids by squishing them or blowing them off with water or trying a bug B Gone spray but others say to leave them. The monarch caterpillar may actually eat the little protein crunchies as snacks. Who knows? Maybe I'll take a picture of a caterpillar eating one.
And of course, since it was such a nice day, I took a picture of one of the darker sunflowers that bloomed. It was nice of the deer to leave me a few so I figured I better photograph it. This is the first year I've planted sunflower seeds and a lot came up but they are definitely on the deer's menu. No wonder the doe around here are having triplets. Its not a huge flower but its still pretty.
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