Field of Yellow

Did I mention I love Fall?  This breathtaking field of yellow flowers was heavily populated with Monarch butterflies.  Quite a view.

Flowers and Butterflies

We came off the cable car back at the bottom and were greeted with lots of lovely flowers and butterflies enjoying the break in the rain.

Butterflies

Summer is officially over.  I can't believe it went by so fast.  To celebrate our last day of summer, and a rainy, rainy, rainy day it was, Olivia and I headed down to see the butterflies at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.  The butterflies were wonderful but the light wasn't great so the photos are not as spectacular as the butterflies were. 

Some Small Things From A Large Place

Hummingbird Moth

It was a gazillion degrees out on Wednesday but somehow I let Olivia talk me into going butterfly hunting.  The butterflies were having a blast.  She caught eight in 45 minutes.  I stood around (in the shade) and took pictures.  These Hummingbird Moth's were pretty cool.  And then after we left the garden we went straight to the pool!

Painted Lady

Before I went on the Skimmer Boat Trip back in May I stocked up on memory cards.  I bought enough to (hopefully) last through my two week trip to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and France.  I think I can do it.  Especially if I take it off RAW.  I took 2,382 photos on May 12 in New Jersey.  That didn't fill up the one card (I bought 4 cards) so I think...I can do it.  But it's hard to say.  One photo (per view) of a castle is usually enough but I took 5, for example, of this butterfly and hundreds of each individual moving bird. 

Red Admiral Butterfly

I can't believe how amazingly patterned the Red Admiral's wing is underneath.  And he's not too shabby on the top. 

Out for a walk

Olivia and I spent a few hours at Tyler Arboretum yesterday. She bagged 14 butterflies and I photographed some birds. These are generally compatible activities although...there are also conflict of interest scenarios. For example, I'd been chasing this towhee all over the place trying to get a closer photo only to have Olivia scare him off chasing after a butterfly.

So this is my best shot.


On the other hand, if this little wren had come any closer I would have had to step back to get the shot. I first saw him fly into a pine tree across the path from me. Little did I know that he wanted in to the bird house right behind me. Glad I didn't scare him off his task.


And finally, a colorful shot from the butterfly house. One of Olivia's contributions!

Great Spangled Fritillary

While I was walking to the farthest reaches of the arboretum yesterday I saw all kinds of birds. Unfortunately I did not have my camera. I couldn't take a single picture. Not of the cardinal wrestling a bug right in front of me, nor of the blue birds on the fences, nor of the indigo bunting so much closer to me then the one I shot at Longwood Gardens!! Nope. But I figured it was ok because we could come out the next day and I could walk the same path and take all of those awesome photos. Or not. Because I did not see any of those things. Well, I did finally see bluebirds but not close enough for a photo. But that's ok because I got some great photos of a great spangled fritillary. Even more exciting, Olivia managed to catch one for the butterfly house. I love that you can see the pollen on the hairs on the second photo.

Proboscis