04/22/25

 It's Earth Day officially but in my opinion Earth Day should be everyday.  I try to but and plant flowers that are native and that butterflies and bees will like.  You can do it for cheap with Zinnia seed.  They grow easily and butterflies love them!  I took this image of a male Tiger Swallowtail on an old established Lilac a little over a week ago.  It was perfect so must have been newly hatched.  My first butterfly capture for the year.

08/15/24

 I have not seen very many butterflies around my yard lately, only Skippers.  Recently I was treated to a beautiful Tiger Swallowtail visit and I was able to capture a few shots with my phone.  I saw it later but was never able to capture it with my camera so very happy my phone shots came out.  It actually let me get somewhat close to it.

9/8/23

 It's Friday, TGIF!  A short week due to the holiday but they always seem longer for some reason.  I caught this image a little while ago of a Tiger Swallowtail flying to my Budhelia or Butterfly Bush.  I got lucky in that it was even in focus!  😁  I chose this image for today due to the bokeh of the grass behind because Friday's Are Bokehlicious as well!

8/18/23

 TGIF, it's Friday!  I have been able to see a good number of butterflies this summer which has been quite enjoyable.  This is a lovely Tiger Swallowtail that was visiting my Butterfly Milkweed in one of my gardens not that long ago.  There was some nice bokeh in the image so I had to share it today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

1/5/23

 I think I'd like to start off the first week of the new year's posts with a butterfly.  I didn't see all that many this year but I did get a few good opportunities when they were around.  This is a male Tiger Swallowtail on my Western Ironweed growing in a spot of my yard.

 

12/19/22

 Happy Monday!  Today starts the countdown to Christmas!  Hope you are not feeling too much pressure these days.  That is the downside to Christmas.  As I get older I wish it didn't involve presents and was just a time to get together.  Anyway, we are in a cold snap and I am wishing for summer and butterflies.  Here is an image that warms me up.  This is a Tiger Swallowtail on Wooly Verbena that I took back in July.

4/12/22

 I captured my first butterfly of the year and it was quite the surprise.  On Sunday I was out looking for what was in bloom and observed this Tiger Swallowtail enjoying the newly blossoming Ornamental Pear tree.  I have never seen a large butterfly so early, usually my first is a Buckeye.  It was very neat to see and capture it as it flitted around the blooms.

6/12/20

About a week ago while I was out walking late one afternoon I spotted this butterfly in among the Red Clover.  This is a male Tiger Swallowtail.  The Red Clover has been quite the butterfly magnet.  It made for some lovely background bokeh as well so sharing this today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

5/3/19

We finally saw the sun for the first time in a few days on Thursday as I write this.  It still seems weird to write the day before.  It was quite lovely as it had been so dreary for several days.  As I was uploading today's image to share I realized that when the Lilacs bloom, my first large butterfly visitor has often been this one.  I have photos from several years of a beautiful male Tiger Swallowtail visiting them.  So a sure sign that Spring is here.It was very nice to see and get fairly close to this one.

8/10/18

I have been quite lucky this summer that I have been able to see and capture Swallowtail Butterflies.  I have seen them mainly on the new land but also in my newer native plant garden.  I captured this male Tiger Swallowtail enjoying an Ironweed plant and found I had a bug bonus.  😁

5/18/18

On the new land there are a couple of Lilac bushes that are a bit different, smaller leaves and the blooms are smaller but more abundant and smell wonderful.  From what I can find, they may be a type that re-blooms throughout the growing season.  That would be wonderful.  I captured my second butterfly of the season enjoying them as well one evening.  This is a beautiful male Tiger Swallowtail.  

12/1/17

Yikes, it's December 1, only 24 days to Christmas and where has the year gone.  My image was taken on a summer day last year.  This is a Tiger Swallowtail enjoying the Butterfly or Buddleja Bush in my yard.

8/19/16

So I have been whining about not seeing any large butterflies this summer.  I finally had one that came to visit for a while.  This is a male Tiger Swallowtail that I captured in some afternoon sun on my Buddleja or Butterfly Bush.  I have since seen it flying through the yard but so far have not seen it stopping.  Ah well.  At least I got to capture some shots of it this day.