Blossoms, Butterflies, and Bees

This was another pleasant morning and I went outside for a little while. It seemed like butterflies were everywhere. I ran back in, grabbed the camera and took another couple of hundred pictures, with a handful turning out to suit me. I bought a little handbook this afternoon to help me with identification, but it is not all that easy. The underside of the wings are often much paler so if you catch them with their wings closed, it can be deceiving. My little book did tell me that butterflies rest with their wings closed. If you see something you think is a butterfly with the upper wings folded over the lower wings, you are looking at a moth. The antennae of butterflies and moths are also very different. I know the first few shots I've posted are butterflies, but I'm not sure about the brown one. I am sure about yesterday's post, though. The antennae identify that one as a butterfly. Anyone who can identify what I’ve caught on camera.... your knowledge would be welcome.




Most of my butterfly shots turned out to be kind of artsy, which I liked. It was not exactly intentional but I liked the effect as much as if I had been able to capture tack sharp photos with perfect exposure.











You'll have to click on this one and enlarge it to appreciate the angle of the shot.











This one was still in flight. He landed on the brick steps but my best shot of him was before he lit.






This shot was a complete surprise. I'm not even sure if this is a butterfly or a moth, but I loved the way the light danced around in my camera. I thought it looked more like a watercolor painting than a photo. There was very little editing done to any of these photos. I liked this one so such that I sent it to a friend who is ill. Maybe it told her that I think of her and pray for her often.







I know beyond all doubt what this dude is - a white headed bumblebee, and he is covered with pollen. MH used to catch them to the delight of our oldest grandson when he was just a toddler. These don’t sting and my grandson used to laugh hysterically when MH would catch them. I always worried that my grandson wouldn’t know the difference and attempt to catch the ordinary stinging kind of bumblebee, but MH assured me that his little hands weren’t quick enough.

During those years we also had large clumps of ornamental grass in the back flower beds. One day this particular grandson, who we call Q, was looking out the window and quickly reported that a lion was in the back yard. He had seen The Lion King on video in the not too distant past. We were never able to convince him that lions weren’t in the yard. He didn’t seem to be afraid, but he was quite insistent that he was looking at lions. It made me think of Jerry Clower (are any baby boomers reading?) Jerry had a very funny story entitled “Lions in the Yard”. Jerry Clower was from Yazoo City, MS. His style of humor was similar to Minnie Pearl's humor. I enjoyed them both.