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Zinnia Whisperer
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Moose River
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Garden Sightings
Great Spangled Fritillary 
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Giant Swallowtail
These are, I’ve read, the largest butterflies in North America. It takes around 7 weeks to move through egg, caterpillar, and chrysalis stages. The culminating masterpiece, a gorgeous adult butterfly, only lives 6-14 days.
Looking at the torn wings of this one feeding in my zinnias, I sure wish they could regenerate and last longer.
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On the brink of fall
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Outer Banks in June
I thought I’d posted these earlier in the summer. Better late than never! These are a few select pictures of a great experience at the beach.
To scroll through the photos manually, click on a photo and move forward or back in the sequence using the arrows.
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Summer Visitors
We have various non-human residents who pass through our yard in the summer. Other people may lead more exotic and busy lives, but one of our joys around here is simply watching what unfolds in the back yard. Some visitors are more welcome than others, but they all bring interest and variety and encourage us to pay attention. You never know what you might see when you look out the window…
This overgrown lilac just over the stone wall in our neighbor’s yard, for example, is a favorite roost for the female ruby-throated hummingbird.
She even takes a drink now and then — at least, I think that’s what she’s doing here:
We have mixed feelings about the rabbits, who ate enough of my flowers that I put up an ugly fence for awhile… but they clearly feel quite comfortable.
Chipmunks aren’t as welcome as they used to be either, since they sabotaged my sunflowers twice this spring.
The fence wasn’t pretty, but it seemed a welcome addition to birds who liked to perch on the wire. When I took it down this week, they were briefly flummoxed by the disappearance of their favorite landing place.
This warbler — I think it’s a Nashville warbler — didn’t appear till after the fence went up.
A giant swallowtail visited as well. They’re not really common around here, but we’ve seen one twice this summer.
Last but not least, we have a whitetail deer with two fawns.
It’s hard not to see them as pests who carry lyme disease and eat garden plants. But they don’t come to our yard much, and when they do they mostly eat the brushy stuff along the edge of the yard. No nibbling in forbidden areas so far.
On the whole it’s a pleasant set of visitors. I notice, looking at these pics, that most of them weren’t taken in bright, sunny conditions. The light could be better. But it’s been so hot that clouds are actually a relief when they come. I suspect the animals feel the same.
Still, it’s been mostly sunny, and I can’t complain about a sunny summer — not in one of the most overcast regions in the country!
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Robins
Youngster, chilling with Mom -
Sapsucker Woods
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Back Yard
These are some scenes from out back this spring. Along with the usual birds and chipmunks visiting our feeder, we’ve been enjoying a red squirrel nest in the stone wall. There are at least 4 babies that have evolved from peering out from the crevices to practicing their climbing and walking.
