Early Summer a large winged wonder caught Brad's keen eye.
Polyphemus Moth
6.16.25
Yes, it looks dead. At least we thought it was dead. After humming-n-hawing, Brad gently flipped it over so we could see what the other side looked like. Suddenly, it flapped it's huge wings and flew off with vigor. Gasp!
We were SO surprised!! It had pretty wings, with a large colorful dot on each. It flew up and over the top of our barn. We had never seen anything like this winged wonder before. Whatever it was sure found a funny way & place to rest. Of course I looked it up.
Nature is a.m.a.z.i.n.g and offering endless learning opportunities.
I walked out of our garage and found one of my favorite flutterby's basking on the sunny concrete.
Red-Spotted Purple
6.17.25
I find it so interesting the underside wings have orange/red spots, and the top side wings are a gorgeous metallic blue.
perhaps gathering trace minerals, similar to puddling
(16 seconds)
Why are things in nature that are clearly blue named purple, and some flowers vis-versa?
I spotted a new (to me) winged wonder while walking our wooded hollow. Google came up with yet another name that made me go, huh?
False Crocus Geometer Moth
6.19.25
I find natures marking patterns fascinating!!! There is an obvious difference in butterflies this season. Numbers are drastically down, at least on our land. I finally spotted a small Monarch that wasn't floating up and away. Of course the dogs scared it away before I could get a better shot. Sigh.
7.9.25
I was so bummed when the dogs scared yet another Monarch. It would have been prettier taken from the other side of my Hydrangea blooms. The blooms are just starting to change over to semi-pink!
7.25.25
No doubt you are asking yourself, why doesn't she leave the dogs inside while in search of butterflies, and 'ahem use her big girl camera. I do. Once in a while. So far this year I have only found common wings. You know how that goes, when you are not looking the unusual appears.
Silver Spotted Skipper (?) on Hoary Vervain
Pink-Edged Sulpher on Zinnia
7.29.25
5 comments:
Nice! That was a huge moth!!
We found and unusual moth on the patio after we finished lunch there today. It had died there for some treason. Such amazing creatures to discover if we but stop and look. The monarchs are a wonderful find.
You have a lot of interesting observations. Do they come to you as you write or as you walk? The purple and blue, blue and purple enigma, for example. I had never thought of it, but you’re right. So, I do not have a big girl camera anymore. It got outdated and too difficult to transfer the photos from SD. I rely completely on my phone. The new iPhone takes great videos, but I haven’t fully figured out the photography part yet. It seems to use more blur than I want. You captured some beautiful shots of the winged ones! I love their names. The moth with the eyeballs on the wings is really cool. A six inch wingspan is crazy!
Linda, my mind wanders as I walk. My life is pretty quiet these days.
Technology is constantly changing. I have a love/hate relationship with it. My big camera is so outdated it is not even funny. Since I no longer shoot professionally, I just don't see the point (or need) of getting a new one.
The camera settings on my iphone are pretty robust. I haven't gotten into learning options either. I know they mirror "real camera" settings. I use my phone camera frequently for ease, more as a point and shoot.
I wonder if that moth got tipped over and couldn't get back on it's feet? Good thing you guys found it!
I have been noticing more butterflies now that the rain has stopped. You sure got some unusual ones!
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