butterflies in fall

Early Fall gifted us unseasonably high temperatures. Many weeds & plants have already died back. It allowed colorful blooms in my wild garden to standout. Just when I thought none of the Zinnia or Verbena seeds I scattered had grown! The last of this seasons Sulpher butterflies caught my attention. They were active! Fun to watch and photograph.

10.12.26

I never saw any yellow wings land on the hot pink Zinnia's.

They seem to prefer the coral ones. Perhaps due to the more open shape of the flower.

It didn't take long for the wings to make their way to the Verbena. There were SO many zipping around. I tried to catch more than one in a frame. I changed my mind and focused on a butterfly that had landed and was backlit.

Just like potato chips, I couldn't pick just one (photo).

I never thought I would be taking butterfly photos this late in the season. It was late September when I saw the last Monarch, and heard the last Whippoorwill. 

Our Hummingbirds left early October. Although I am fairly certain I saw a straggler this morning. My feeders are down, but thankfully blooms are still going strong. For now. The little hummer better head South. Our weather will be changing very soon.

harvest moon delight

Years ago I scouted local-ish Astrophotography locations. Most are a long drive, making it daunting to return. Saturday night, I decided to go back to one that had been on my mind for over a decade. I had read the Harvest Moon would be the brightest in five years. I don't shoot the moon very often. I checked some data, and decided it would be good to dust off my old camera. It had been a long time since I have gone on a photography road trip. 

Although I never saw the Northern Lights the first night I was there. The trip was still worth it. I remember being in jaw dropping awe, while watching the enormous moonrise I happened upon. Perhaps it would happen again. You won't know unless you try. 

Brad had planned on cooking a delicious meal. However, my wonderful husband changed his plans and decided to go with me. I was extra thankful he did! Later in the evening, a motorcycle passed by me. Shortly afterwards, the guy turned around and came back. It felt odd. I highly doubt he saw Brad sitting in the truck. The motorcycle pulled into the empty (except our vehicle) parking area for a while. Probably innocent. However with Brad there, I could focus on shooting the moon instead of worrying.

Saturdays evening sky was cloudy. I had my doubts. What if we drove all that way and didn't see the moonrise? Thankfully the closer we got to the boat launch area, the clearer the eastern sky became.

We arrived. Yikes! The waterway had overgrown and closed in. I had thought about bringing muck boots. You couldn't even SEE towards the East! Doubt I would have temped fate, in stinky muddy unknown water. 

boat launch 9/26/26

We went over to another spot, further down the road with a wide open view. It was on higher ground. The view was not what I remembered, but at least I could actually see the moonrise!

The best place to photograph was next to a low road bridge, flanked with double large caution signs. I prefer not to stand, walk or even be close to a road. I set my tripod up regardless, and stood back on a wide section of shoulder and waited. 

I was SUPER excited when I spotted a sliver edge of the moon rising over the distant hillside!! I am sure the occasional passing car thought I was completely nuts. 

rising fast

While watching the moon rise rapidly, I started to realize a fun shot *might* just happen. I kept clicking, watched and waited. In suspense.

I played with some camera settings, enhanced in post. The moon continued to rise in the direction of...

...a tree!!! Ta Da! A classic moon shot. My favorite shot/s.

Harvest Moon Delight

wider view with a balanced moon



iphone view from tripod (very bright outside)

I turned around (always turn around!) to shoot the start of sunset with my phone.

the sky was pretty and ever changing

last shot from the road

Mosquitos started getting bad. Time to head home. If the water had been clearer I would have held out while swatting, for some reflection shots. 

moon shot through some weeds

The evening light continued to change quickly. Manual camera settings need adjusting. My camera started picking up the sky as a solid darker royal blue. The moon was more white and defined. The shot below is probably my best shot of the actual moon. Taken with my trusty shorter 70-200mm lens. I used it on all these non-phone shots. In hind-sight I probably should have hauled at least my wider angle, and maybe my 100-400mm w/w-out adapter. Or both. Instead, I enjoyed less fussiness. Less bracketing. Less elusive perfect shot-ness.

All that to say, I like capturing moments with simple less processed photography. However I do crop, sometimes slide a value or two and have to sharpen (I shoot Raw) all my photos.

On the way home, I watched a few cool cloud veils masking the moon. I wanted to shout "pull over" LOL. It didn't last long, and the moon went behind thick clouds.

We were almost home when my phone told me the Northern Lights were active. Whatever. Our area was socked in with clouds anyways. After a long drive and a good night of photography, we were tired and hungry.

g'night!

butterfly garden update

As you may recall, early this Spring we did our first controlled burn in our struggling Butterfly Garden. Pulling Weeds, over seeding, and a whole lot of over thinking, were not enough to make butterfly garden dreams come true.

We inherited an area of sky high piled yunk wood in 2016. The garden started with weeds much taller than us humans. Wide open areas are a haven for ruthless weeds. 

Growing anything in sandy loam besides invasive weeds is slow and challenging. I have been learning the hard way. By trial and error. Seeds don't take as easy and purchased perennials seem to wither beyond their first year. One can only assume from a lack of nutrients and consistent moisture. Adapting to growing anything in sandy soil is a work in progress. 

There are times I have to remind myself of my gardening motto: Grow what Grows for You. 

The garden was planted in 2022. The butterfly garden dream was: One half (wing) would be perennials and the other mostly bfly loving annuals. Keeping a curvy path down the middle would allow immersion. Silly homemade deelly bobber antennas would be added to one end. Fostering wonder and smiles. Among other things, we talked about also possibly adding a bench.

2023 was our most active butterfly year. Only one year after the initial planting. Not the typical 3-5 years for plants and gardens to establish. Thanks to annuals. Despite my best efforts, annuals do not grow well anymore. No clue why. They were self & reseeding so nicely. This leaves me not so patiently waiting for native perennials to do their thing.

The butterfly garden was suppose to be low maintenance. Before we moved here, I decided to retire from gardening in the ground. Wellll, that didn't work. Guess I can't help myself. Growing plants is in my blood!! Both indoor and outdoor. I am a good candidate for PAA (Plant-Aholics Anonymous).

The Butterfly Garden was initially Brad's idea. Many of my past gardens evolved from less desirable mowing spots. Our agreement was: If we could not get the big garden to be lower maintenance, it would get plowed under. It would not bother me a bit. Been there. Done that. It wouldn't be my first time saying good-bye to a butterfly garden. The first was (with permission) in a public park as a Girl Scout leader. Watering (and accountability) became an issue. That year turned out to be a tough drought year.

Seeing weeds spread and choke out flowering plants that I am trying to nurture bothers me. I was ready to stop fighting the weeds and fire up the mower. Instead, we decided to try Plan C. A controlled burn. I think it worked? Kinda. Sorta. It has been very interesting to see what survived the burn, and what did not. Control burning a flowering garden/prairie area is a first for me. Each week or so, another plant reveals itself. Often not where it was originally planted.

6.26.26

Plants returning to date: One purchased Native Coneflower returned. One. I see no sign of other native coneflowers started/seeded plants that grew. The fancier garden varieties that had previously returned, apparently perished. 

Orange Butterfly Weed not only survived, but spread!! One plant was purchased, others started from seed. I also spread chilled seeds, that take years to even begin to grow.

Hello Yellow Butterfly Weed not only survived, but also spread!! I started these indoors from seed. The seeds are harder to find than the standard orange variety.  

I am watching for Liatris blooms. Some of the plants did return after the burn. They usually bloom later in Summer for me. 

No signs of Black Eyed Susans. These tender perennials have never done well for me. Here or at my previous home. I've tried growing them in every way. Perhaps they will show up eventually. It could happen.

Returning blooms from earlier in the season:

Lupine
5.19.26

Hairy Beard Tongue
(started indoors from seed)
6.5.26

Hawkweed?

Self planted weed, growing everywhere. I will most likely have to pull some, so it doesn't take over.

More recent sightings:

Hoary Vervain 
7.3.26

Finally, a real butterfly in this years garden!

As you can see I made peace with letting grasses grow, along with what I consider weeds. Some are beneficial. The Monarch above seems to appreciates them.

yellow coneflowers have spread and doing well (from plants & seeds)
7.12.26

thriving together

A surprise Red Catchfly (aka Red Campion)
7.15.26

looks like more than one :)

Future plans: Another early Spring controlled burn. Also, watching for native plants to go on sale. I would like to continue adding a few key plants each year. However, the plants are pricey! More seeds will be spread, although I honestly don't feel seeding is effective here. Regardless I will continue collecting, saving and spreading seeds. Some seeds are easier to collect than others. Jury is out on the path & the fun antenna deely bobbers :)

The rest will be up to Mother Nature.

right on time

In April, I spotted healthier prickly pear pads growing. More than usual. I guessed it would be a banner year for big beautiful yellow cactus blooms. An abundance of not so Hidden Cactus are blooming strong this year. If you can see easily them, be warned there are even more pads hidden. When you are off the beaten path, be careful where you step!

First bloom this season was spotted in an area at the bottom of our property that I call Cactus Cove. The dogs and I frequently walk past it. I keep the dogs out of there and other known prickly area's. For obvious reasons.

first Prickly Pear Cactus bloom
(Opuntia genus) 6.22.26

A few days later, Brad asked if I had seen any cactus blooming on our property. He told me an area we rarely use had a lot of them. I couldn't wait to drive the side-by-side over to see what I could see. Wow!!! He was not kidding! 

too many blooms to count (47 secs)

We frequented this area the first year we owned our land (2016). It was the only existing entrance/way to access our property. We thought perhaps it would be a good home site. We quickly changed our mind. There is something to be said for revisiting an area to get a feel for it. 

6.27.26

I was worried the cacti might cause tire issues and dug them out of the sandy entrance way in 2016. The cactus I dug out bloomed. Even when exposed and heaped on a pile.

intricate blooms

With the area undisturbed, the cacti have come back in force. We have learned to love them, and even named our place after them: Hidden Cactus Ranch. 

papery blooms

so delicate and fierce at the same time

birds of a feather

Birds of a feather do not always stick together. The typical "I am bigger than you are" bird feeder squabbles happen fairly regularly. Scolding for being too close to a nest one can't see -or- squawking "fill our feeders" reminders also happen. 

We have seen more unusual birdee interactions this past week. Walking in our woods, I watched a male Cardinal aggressively chase a Blue Jay away. An Oriole closely followed the action.

Ruffled feathers of Red, Blue, followed by Orange were first heard then sighted, not far overhead. I was glad they kept their squabble amongst themselves.

.................

On a semi-related note, Brad finally got our first crop hay baled. Without getting rained upon! Not for the lack of wishing he could bale earlier. Considering our weather, it was nothing short of a miracle. 104 large square bales left our property! A record for us. All sold to a repeat buyer. It sure feels good to see hay off our fields. You would be surprised how many people watch and share the status of neighboring fields. Along with their own (cough, cough Brad).

Brad raking hay (6.21.26)

While our hay was down drying, numerous crows and other critters were having their own hay-day. One particular Turkey Vulture kept swooping close to our house roof line. Over and over. It made me concerned. They soar over head regularly, but never come close. Perhaps something perished in the surrounding field.

field behind our house (20 secs)

The following day, a Turkey Vulture once again circled low. Swooping over our house. It flew close to Cierra. She gave the bird a big tail swoosh and glance. The bird landed elsewhere in the pasture. Perhaps Turkey Vultures speak horse. It briefly ate what I assume was undigested seed, before taking flight. It went back to doing the soaring they are so well know for. 

We both stopped what we were doing and watched the action in wonder from our deck.

I couldn't resist the unexpected photo opportunity. I hustled inside to grab my big camera. Of course it was packed away. No time to change settings. I shot the way it was set. Some of the action didn't turn out clear, but I did get a few images to share. Note to self; My tracking was off. I am rusty!

Turkey Vulture

Shortly after, a second large winged wonder joined the soaring vulture. 

It didn't take long to recognize it was a Red-tailed Hawk. 

These two spread their wings and shared the open sky nicely. They circled together, not far from us. Almost as if dancing, over the field shown in the video above. The field, not the dance.

Until a band of Crows half their size came out of nowhere and chased them away.

What an noisy aerial show that was!! Caught us by surprise. It happened so fast. I didn't even get a single shot fired off.

Red-tailed Hawk

I was reminded how long I waited for one of my favorite in-flight photos. Taken over a decade ago. Back when I was really into photography.

We lived near a rock quarry. For years, I watched what I believe was a juvenile Red-tailed hawk flying the same pattern over our house. Usually landing in a backyard tree. I couldn't tell you how many times I grabbed my camera and ran outside. Only to be disappointed. The hawk frequently saw me and flew away. I started to notice it would call out shortly after leaving the quarry. I listened and watched for it. A lot.

One fine day, I managed to be in the right place at the right time.

I first saw the hawk way off in the distance. Grabbed my camera and ran to stand where he could not see me. Camera pointed towards the sky. Standing on our deck. With baited breath. Listening for the hawk to approach. Waiting. Waiting. More waiting. I could not see the hawk, but I could hear him approaching. It was then, he crossed over our garage roof line. Saw me, locked eyes and for a brief second was suspended in air. I will never forget it. The look of surprise on that hawks face was priceless!!

Click!! Gotcha!!!