Of butterflies, beads and busses

I have been sharing the garden with this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly since early August. He must have sustained sever damage fairly early in his life. You would be amazed at how well he flies considering the amount of wing he has lost.

Now in mid September, his color has faded to dull brown with cream and the edges of his wings are tattered. Still he continues to visit the Volcano Phlox everyday.



A black swallowtail is another visitor to the pink Volcano phlox. This phlox has turned out to be the hands down favorite of swallowtail butterflies for the last three years.

Another interesting note, hummingbirds prefer the species tall garden phlox to any of the hybrids.




Jewelry Making
a new hobby

Went to my first jewelry making class last Saturday. I love polished stones and wanted to make something casual to wear this fall with denim jackets and jeans. I chose turquoise colored stones and silver beads for my first necklace.


Also attending the class was a music teacher who wanted earrings to go with each of her outfits and two young ladies who made bracelets of glass beads.

I ended up making a bracelet of translucent stones and silver beads in addition to the necklace.


Taking photos of jewelry is more difficult than expected. To get good shots without a lot of indoor lightening equipment, I will need to set up a display area outside. Much more work is needed to improve my skills.

"Move That Bus"

We had celebrities in our area last week. The team from
Extreme Makeover: Home Addition
were here helping the Scott family whose home burned several months ago. The Scotts had recently moved to Lena, Illinois to become organic farmers.

(Rockford Register Star Photo)

The new home, built by volunteers from recycled materials, is a classic farmhouse design with yellow trim and shutters. It also has a few 'green' features like a three-kilowatt windmill for electrical supply, a geothermal heating/hot water system, and a rain water collection system.

Actor David Duchovny, former X-file star, was here Wednesday promoting the eco-friendly additions.

(Rockford Register Star Photo)

The build went very well and the house was finished in record time. Several thousand locals showed up at the finish to shout "move that bus".

(Rockford Register Star Photo)

Date and time for this episode is not yet scheduled but it will probably air in December. Without a doubt, this program has brought a lot of joy to many families down on their luck.

"Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances

thick in the air and a blanket of color before me, who could ask for more?"
~ Bev Adams, Mountain Gardening

A Cabbage White sunning on the leaf of a pink mallow. A good day to be a butterfly;)



A Tawny Emperor nectars on a purple coneflower.



Kwanso still blooming at the bend of the drive, welcoming visitors with a frothy display of vivid color.



Globe thistle just beginning to show its misty blue color.





An Eastern Comma, displaying the tiny white mark about half way up his hind wing. Nature designed the Commas to look like brown leaves. I wish he would have opened his wings to show the amazing angles and curves. Butterflies tend to be uncooperative. They never believe me when I promise to make them the next Elle Macpherson of butterfly models;)


David just beginning to create his snow capped mountain effect in my garden. Old, faithful David, I wouldn't dream of gardening without him.



August, with its clouds of scented blooms,
August, with its great stacks of giant clouds,
August, with corn plants standing like rows of soldiers,
August, with watermelons, full and heavy, dozing in the sun
~ Mary Naylor

Oriental lily Mona Lisa.

Butterflies and an assortment of unrelated stuff

Butterfly sightings have been rare this season. Record breaking rainfall and extremely cold temperatures have really decreased populations. Looking out a window on a midsummer day, I can usually see 4 or 5 tiger swallowtails dancing among the phlox blooms. Normally Cabbage Whites cover the Blue Fortune agastache all day long. In years past I could always count on fluttering monarchs above the coneflowers and skippers everywhere. The flowers planted especially for butterflies seem forlorn, waiting out there for visitors who never come.

I safaried out in search of something alive and colorful. The first thing I encountered was a dragonfly or damselfly which I cannot identify. It wasn't shy and continue to lounge in the sunshine on an Autumn Joy sedum while I took pictures. I don't see these often on the farm so it was interesting to study one up close. These creatures are natural predators of mosquitoes so I wish I had more.


A fluttering movement caught my eye a little further along the border. My Volcano phlox and managed to lure a single Tiger Swallowtail in for midmorning snack. These are one of the showiest butterflies we see here in this area. Beautiful color, design and what a graceful shape to the wings.


Skippers are usually so plentiful they can be seen skipping above the grass almost everywhere. Today there was only one, wings a little ragged and worse for wear. He was absorbed in studying the just budding phlox David and posed for me while I took his picture from several angles.



Venturing out farther into the pasture I found this little Summer Azure on a Queen Ann's lace bloom. He wasn't shy and let me take several photos.



There were two monarchs bouncing from red clover to clover bloom along the lane but they wanted nothing to do with photography. I finally gave up stalking them and pretended I never wanted a monarch photo anyway.

Coming back to the house, a little disappointed that I hadn't seen many butterflies, a Tawny Emperor was waiting for me on the Pagoda Dogwood. I begged and pleaded but he would't open his lovely wings for a photo so I made do with this one. (Those red stems once held the tree's black berries but they are gone to the birds or fallen in the hosta bed).



Thank you MissSherry in Mississippi for helping me identify the Tawny Emperor and the Summer Azure. Neither butterfly was in my field guide. And thank you Jeff for recommending the Kaufman and Glassberg field guides which are more complete than mine. Both MissSherry and Jeff hang out on Garden Webs butterfly forum so if you ever have a question or just want to share photos, go visit them.

I'd also like to recommend a site to anyone who loves looking at butterfly and bird photos--really GOOD butterfly and bird photos. Abe Lincoln's Birds is a friendly place to visit, see some birds close up, and read some snippets of personal experiences photographing wildlife.

Have a great week everyone and I'll post again Thursday.