Wildlife Wednesday – Butterfly in Flight

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IMG_0681Several years ago, my BFF and I was discussing our favorite photographs that we’d taken and the ones we’d like to take of different subjects.
BFF asked me if I’d ever taken a photograph of a butterfly in flight.
Mmm, nope and I’d never thought of it. I had at one time made an unsuccessful attempt at trying to capture water drops falling, but butterflies in flight never occurred to me to try.

The simple question sent me on a quest that took me awhile to accomplish. I was determined to get a photo of a butterfly in flight no matter how long it took. Besides, it was fun trekking across the yard chasing the little beauties… (and giving my neighbors something to watch: an old woman with a camera chasing butterflies must’ve been entertaining to watch.)

While my results were mostly blurred, I did manage get a few butterflies in flight. The butterfly in flight that I posted today is one of my favorites. I know it’s a bit of a blur, but I still think it’s pretty. I had quite a large flower bed that year and this gorgeous angel along with several others enjoyed the blooming buffet.

Have you ever photographed a butterfly in flight?
Wishing you all wonderful Wednesday!
z00m

 

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2015 WP Weekly Photo Challenge – Vivid

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2015
WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge
~Vivid~

velvet-cowkillerThe cow killer ant stands out with it’s vivid color and it’s deadly legend.
I remember when I was a wee child being warned about these ants. Every one that was seen around our tiny country farm was terminated immediately. I was an adult before I learned the truth about the ant.

The cowkiller ant or red velvet ant is actually a wingless female-wasp (species Dasymutilla occidentalis).  The male looks similar to the female only with black wings. The males don’t sting, however the female has a toxic sting. The sting is painful, but not strong enough to actually kill a cow as the old folklore implies.
You can read more about it: here
http://www.orkin.com/ants/cow-killer-ant/

~*~*~*~

Wishing you all fun with the WP photo challenge!z00m

spgrnbgln

Garden Update – 6-8-2015

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Wishing you all happiness with your
outdoor projects this gardening season.
gardeningcouple
spgrnbgln

Lavender herb or flower

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My lavender is blooming. I bought it last year thinking I was going to give using lavender herb a try.

I read a recipe of lavender infused tea. Oh it sounded so lovely and pleasant like it would be refreshing on a hot Summer day.
I was talking to my BFF about the lavender tea. I pondered aloud “I wonder what lavender tastes like.”
My BFF laughed and said, “It probably tastes like purple.” lol

It was a bit late in the season for me to a start seeds, so I decided to buy an already growing plant. I found one at a local plant/fruit stand. It was a lovely little thing. On the way home I imagined myself, lounging on our back porch with an icey glass of lavender infused tea.

After I got the plant home, I looked it up on the internet and discovered there’s different varieties of lavender. The plant stake that came with mine was plastic with a picture of a grown plant and said ‘lavender’, but didn’t say what variety. So, I decided not to try it, since I couldn’t be sure if it was safe to eat or not.

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I gave up on making any lavender recipes. Sadly, I took the little plant and planted it in one of my flower beds. It grew quite a bit over the summer. I figured it would die during the winter, but this Spring it was a nice surprise to see that it survived.

I don’t know if it’s edible, but I plan on letting it grow and survive for as long as it can. I think it gives a bit of character to my flower bed.

I know the photos of this lavender aren’t top quality. But for some reason my camera has struggles trying to focus on it.

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Do you think this variety is edible?

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend.cloudhugspgrnbgln

Wildlife Wednesday: Dust Bunny

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Yes folks, Dust Bunnies do exist and I caught one in action the other day.
I’d never seen a rabbit doing this before and my video of it is short and unstable, but you can get the gist of what the rabbit itching the loose dust bunnies off.
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Wishing you all wonderful Wednesday!
🙂
spgrnbgln