Faces

Swallowtails

"The male is yellow with four black 'tiger stripes' on each forewing. Females may be either yellow or black, making them dimorphic. 

The yellow morph is similar to the male, but with a conspicuous band of blue spots along the hindwing, while the dark morph is almost completely black." -- Wikipedia

"The black swallowtail [above] has a wingspan of 6.9–8.4 cm, and females are typically larger than males. The upper wing surface is black with two rows of yellow spots – these spots are large and bright in males and smaller and lighter in females." -- Wikipedia

Question Mark?

 

You'll just have to take my word for it about the question mark. Unfortunately, this particular butterfly wasn't interested in showing off his/her (?) underside. 

"Polygonia interrogationis, commonly called the question mark butterfly, is a North American nymphalid butterfly. It lives in wooded areas, city parks, generally in areas with a combination of trees and open space. The color and textured appearance of the underside of its wings combine to provide camouflage that resembles a dead leaf. The adult butterfly has a wingspan of 4.5–7.6 cm (1.8–3.0 in). Its flight period is from May to September. 'The silver mark on the underside of the hindwing is broken into two parts, a curved line and a dot, creating a ?-shaped mark that gives the species its common name.'" -- Wikipedia

God-like?!

 

 

 “We know that you are royally blest
Cicada when, among the tree-tops,
You sip some dew and sing your song;
For every single thing is yours
That you survey among the fields
And all the things the woods produce.
The farmers’ constant company,
You damage nothing that is theirs;
Esteemed you are by every human
As the summer’s sweet-voiced prophet.
Muses love you, and Apollo too,
Who’s gifted you with high pitched song.
Old age does nothing that can wear you,
Earth’s sage and song-enamored son;
You suffer not, being flesh-and-blood-less–
A god-like creature, virtually.”

--  Anacreontea

WHAAAT!

 

"Please, sir, I want some more." -- Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist

Late Summer

 

 

 

Late summer here. To no one's surprise, it's sunny, hot, and humid most afternoons (this is southeastern Virginia, after all), perfect conditions for many of my favorite things.

 

Summer

 

 

Lambs

Bottlebrush Buckeye

 

"The naturalist, explorer and plant collector William Bartram first noted this . . . shrub on his travels through Carolina, Georgia and Florida in 1773–78. An old example was still to be found in Bartram's Garden, Philadelphia, in 1930." -- Wikipedia

Waiting

Had quite a conversation yesterday with this ewe. From what I could gather, she was a little agitated about her breakfast being late, although, to be fair to her handlers, I think sheep are always just a little bit agitated whenever it comes to matters involving food. :-)

Ebony Jewelwing

Break Time

 

Break time for our otherwise busy bovine.

The Pose

 

Standing on the Promises

 

Lambing

 

 

It's that season of the year again when lambs are beginning to appear. Just a day before this photograph was taken, I happened to run into one of the persons responsible for their care who was taking the newest addition to Colonial Williamsburg's flock, born literally moments before, with its mother to "the barn" where both were to be checked by a veterinarian before being returned to pasture. 

The sheep here, however, aren't just for show. Their wool is used for spinning locally. Also, unlike on some farms, these sheep are not destined for mutton. They are, instead, "retired" to local farmers who, I'm told, kindly look after them in their dotage.

Lady Beetle

 

Uhm, who knew that entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or just lady beetles to avoid confusion with true bugs? Apparently, there's a difference! And here I've been calling them ladybugs for as long as I can remember.

Best Friends

Shadowfax

 

Well, probably not Gandalf's horse, but a very fine horse nonetheless.

Hay! Glorious Hay!

 

The Other Side