Critters

I didn't make it out much this week, but have some photos I think I exported and forgot to put in last week's post, so I exported them again to put for this week's Camera Critters, hosted by Misty Dawn.  The link is in my sidebar.

The first few are from 9/3.  Our son likes to look for snakes and other critters when he comes over.  Here, he had a skipper land on his leg.

Then, it crawled onto his hand.  I don't remember having a butterfly on my hand, other than one in the butterfly pavilion at the zoo.

The same day, he also had a daddy long legs to show his son.

I took this because usually, I just see one, and sometimes two doves watching over the street.  It was cool to see three.

These photos were taken last Saturday.  I wonder if these are the same moths that were on the sweet potato vines awhile back.  The one looked like it did not have much life left in it.

I spotted this silver spotted skipper on the verbena in the vegetable garden.

This is the same skipper.  I don't know if I've gotten one of these on both sides of the wings.  I never would have guessed this is a silver spotted skipper.

I think this is the same kind of moth as the ones that were together in last week's post on the agastache.

My husband, Larry, took this photo while taking pictures of our grandson and I picking tomatoes.

I made it out just as it was getting light this morning, and found some more critters around, some still asleep.

I can't remember if I've seen insects feed on lisianthus nectar, but I saw these taking shelter in the blooms.

This is another bloom with a different bee, or whatever it is.

I was also taking photos of the curb bed area, and took one of this butterfly milkweed.  It has more seed pods than I've seen on one before.  I also discovered something else.  Can you see it?

Here's a closer view.  I'm always tickled when I see caterpillars, especially monarchs.

I walked to my garden across the street to see if I could see any critters, and heard this squirrel scolding the dogs next door.  I talked to it to see if it would show its face.  It did, but didn't stick around long.

We're having cooler temperatures this week.  I'm not ready for fall, but I'm not making out to the garden as much as I'd like, anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter much.  Have a great weekend!

My prayers are with all those affected in any way by the events of 9 years ago, which means all of us.

Do You Deadhead your Butterfly Bushes?

I do.  I didn't get to them as soon as they faded like I usually do, but a couple days ago, decided to take some before and after photos.  If you look it up, there are detailed instructions on how to do this.  I just go fairly close to where a new stem starts, taking the stems back as far as the faded growth, or a little farther if I want to shape them a bit.

I sometimes tie up this bush so that the branches don't droop, but haven't done that this year.

Here's a close up view of the faded blooms.

You can see that the stems were cut at different lengths, depending on how far back the blooms were faded.

The after photos don't look as different from the before ones than the bush does in "person".  It's not perfectly shaped, but looks much better.

I took the next photo this evening, since I didn't have a close up to compare to the faded blooms one.

I am almost caught up with visiting those who left comments on my critter post a week ago, and ready to visit this past Saturday's commenters' blogs.  When I hear about hurricanes and fires, I think of and pray for the bloggers in those areas.

Work is going well, but I come home tired.  We have some new students who need lots of attention, and I work with one of them from 11:30 to 2:40 most days.  It's fun getting into a routine, and seeing him do more and more things independently. 

I have been helping my grown daughter clean her place, which she has gotten very far behind in due to depression.  I told her I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel, but she said she doesn't yet.  Any prayers would be appreciated.

Skippers, Gray Hairstreaks, their Friends, and Flowers they Like

I haven't posted since last Saturday.  I haven't been outside as much as I like this week, but was able to take a lot of critter photos to post for Misty Dawn's Camera Critters.  The link is in my sidebar.

This must be a chrysalis on the vegetable garden fence.  I wonder what kind.

Here's a closer view of it.

I was surprised to see this swallowtail caterpillar on the mostly dry dill.  I hope it had enough to eat.

I think this is a male cabbage white.  My book says the females have 2 spots.

I saw a small bee going in and out of this hole.  It moved too fast for me to get a photo.  I wonder if it was a mason bee.  I've been wanting to get a mason bee house, but haven't done it.   This is in the vegetable garden, too.

Here are a bee and a nasty beetle sharing a hollyhock bloom.

I've been hearing birds, and seeing them high in the sky more than up close.  I have seen some cardinals when I don't have the camera out, and the blue jays and sparrows are still around.  The doves spend a lot of time on the wires above the street.  I haven't seen as many robins.  Also, I am sad, because I have not seen my friend, the robin with the damage on its breast ever since the day I saw a couple neighbor kids trying to catch a bird across the street.  I saw the boy the other day and asked if it was a robin, but he said he didn't know.  I don't think he wanted to talk about it, because I had chased them away, telling them to leave it alone.  Maybe it was old and ready to die.  I miss it.

A couple silver spotted silvers have found the lantana on the deck.  I just was able to get a photo of one of them.

A monarch came to have a taste while I was photographing, but didn't stay around long.

The next photos were taken today.   A few days ago, I counted 14 gray hairstreaks on the garlic chives, along with a number of bees and small insects I am not familiar with.  I didn't make it out to get photos that day, but a few insects finally came to the chives today, after the sun made its way to the area.  I love garlic chives and their blooms, but only grow them in pots, because they are invasive and don't stay out even when dug out.  They also reseed aggressively, so I deadhead them before the seedheads ripen, but still put them in the garbage, and not on the compost pile.

I like the details in this photo, so included it, too.

There were also a couple bees, and those small insects I'm not familiar with along with the soldier beetle and fly on the garlic chives.

Here's the brown butterfly that I couldn't get a clear shot of awhile back.  It does not stay in one spot long enough to focus on it.  This was an accidental focus.  I checked back, and Randy E. thought it may be a Horace Duskywing.  When I looked at that photo, I couldn't see the white on the end of the wings, like this one has.  This one looks like the Funereal Duskywing in my book, but we would be at the north fringe of where they are found.

I counted 15 skippers on the verbena "on a stick" in the vegetable garden.

The eupatorium 'Prairie Jewel' is just starting to open its buds.  This is a great late summer blooming plant insects like.  I sure have lots of gray hairstreaks this year!

The white blooming cypress vine sure is growing through other plants.  I have found that wasps like white blooming plants.  Those are boltonia blooms in the background.  They are covering up the Virginia mountain mint that I moved to that bed this spring.  It was blooming last I checked.  I'll have to see about uncovering it.  I like the legs of this wasp.

As always, there were a number of bees enjoying the veronica, 'Sunny Border Blue' along with the ailanthus moth.

The short toothed mountain mint had quite a crowd enjoying it today.  I'm not sure what the moths are with the soldier beetles.  There were also bees, and I'm thinking a wasp or two on the blooms.

A monarch landed on the butterfly bush just as I was going to see if any butterflies were on it.

The liatris 'Punctata' just started blooming a day or two ago, and I see a bee has found it.

I was able to get a nice variety of insects on the rough goldenrod.  Look how nicely they share!  I was even able to get close enough to use my macro setting.  One of these bees, the lower one, did fly up toward me and then back to the flower to let me know I was getting too close.  I showed respect by going to a different bloom, and not sticking around much longer.

Well, I ended up not seeing as many swallowtails as usual this summer, but this sure has been the year of gray hairstreaks, monarchs, painted ladies, bees and wasps as always, and soldier bugs galore!  I guess they eat insects as well as nectar.  I hope they aren't eating the caterpillars.

I'm not finished visiting the blogs of those who left comments last week.  It was cool having so many.   Thanks to those who helped identify some of the critters.