Reynolda Gardens - Bonus Coverage!

Today was such a nice day, and I finished my lunch early (Malay - yum!) so I decided to take a quick trip to Reynolda Gardens.  I didn't have my "fancy" camera with me today, but I had my little pink Sony Cybershot, the one that started it all. :)

 Common Buckeye

 Painted Lady

Viceroy - I was pretty excited about this one.  I have never seen one, or if I did I didn't pay much attention and thought it was a Monarch.

Fridays at Reynolda Gardens

It was a rough week, but as soon as I got to RG Friday after work I felt instantly better!

Eastern Tailed-Blue

 Common Buckeye

 Fiery Skipper

Another Long-Tailed Skipper!

My Butterfly Garden

Had to go back to reality yesterday.  But there was a treat waiting for me in my butterfly garden when I got home.

 American Painted Lady

 Skipper

 Long-tailed Skipper

Some cute little moth

Fridays at Reynolda Gardens and Sundays at Little Walden

So many cool things to post last week I am behind schedule!

Friday:

Common Buckeye

 The lion head fountain is one of my favorite features of the Gardens.

 Ailanthus Webworm moth on Sedum, got some of this for my butterfly garden, I hope I don't kill it, I don't exactly have a green thumb.

Sunday:

 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

 Dragonfly - lucky shot, he was fast!

 Little stone building on the nature trail

I know most people call these Daddy Longlegs, but I have always called them Grandaddy Longlegs.  Probably something my Grandaddy told me when I was little. :)

OBX

I didn't really have any definite plans for my vacation, I just thought I would wing it.  On Saturday I decided I wanted to go to the beach.  I feel like I need to actually see the ocean and feel the cool water on my feet at least once a year.  So I thought I may go to Myrtle Beach, but I wanted a more  peaceful beach.  I have always wanted to see the wild horses of Corolla, so I decided to go for it!  I only stayed one night, left on Wednesday and came back on Thursday, but I packed in as much fun (and a little relaxation) as I could.

Wild Spanish Mustangs at Corolla, NC

 I had no idea they would be right in people's yards.  Notice the dog looking out the window.

 Can I get a ride? Cattle Egret

Apparently they like to come down to the beach to cool down.

The tour I went on was through the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, a non-profit organization, http://www.corollawildhorses.com/.  I highly recommend the tour.

Atlantic Ocean

 There was a deer out in front of the hotel!

This is Sysco, she lives at the hotel.

This is from the 2003 Celebration of Flight Centennial commemorating the Wright Brothers historic flight at Kitty Hawk. These painted horses were everywhere, but I was really drawn to this one. :)

Sunrise

Currituck Beach Lighthouse. I climbed to the top (holding on for dear life).

Monarch on the pathway to the Currituck Sound

 Currituck Sound - Great Egret

Currituck Sound - Little Blue Heron>

On the way home I went through Manteo, so I decided to stop at the Elizabethan Gardens.  I was pretty happy, because I got to see 2 butterflies I have never seen in the wild.

 Palamedes Swallowtail

Gulf Fritillary

NC Zoo

Tuesday my son and I went to the NC Zoo in Asheboro.  We usually go at least once a year.  This was one of the best trips yet (even though the polar bears are on sabbatical), because we went on the giraffe deck and got to feed a giraffe!  Also there were so many cute babies to see.

 African Elephant

 Baby girl Giraffe - Juma, who is 2 months old

 Feeding leaves to Jamili, Yuma's mom

 :)

 Gorilla and baby - not sure which one this is there were 2 gorilla babies, one about a month old and one just a few days old!

Ebi - 8 month old baby girl Chimpanzee

Sundays at Little Walden

Ahhh, Sunday.  And even better, no getting up early Monday morning!

 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail - I never get tired of seeing these.

 Long-tailed Skipper - I used to never see these and this year I have seen them all over.

Baby Deer - so excited to see this little cutie (and 2 older deer) as I was leaving.  Good thing my son was driving so I could take some pictures from the car.

Bethabara Garden

Saturday morning I went to the medical garden at Bethabara Park.  It was kind of a bust until I found this cute little butterfly, with an equally cute name.

Dainty Sulphur

Fridays at Reynolda Gardens and Tanglewood Arboretum

Yahoo!  10 glorious days off in a row!  And I had a wonderful start at RG Friday morning.

 Painted Lady - you can tell Painted Ladies from American Painted Ladies from the eyespots on the lower wing.  American Painted Ladies have 2 and Painted Ladies have 4.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Water Lily - love this one!

Then after RG, I swung by the Arboretum at Tanglewood.  I didn't stay too long though because it was a tad hot and the mosquitoes were eating me up!  Still saw some butterflies though.

I thought this was a Pearl Crescent, but after looking at my book I think it may be a Silvery Checkerspot.

Sundays at Little Walden

Oh happy day!!

Eastern Tailed-Blue

Common Buckeye

Monarch!

This is a male, you can tell by the scent patches on the wings.

What a cutie!