Thursdays at Reynolda Gardens

This may be a new trend.  I went to Reynolda Gardens on Thursday again.  It has cooled down a little this week, and this time I went after work.  Of course I would go every day if I could!  Maybe I can just move into the play house.

Lots of butterflies today!  I even saw a Monarch, but it was too fast for me.

Common Buckeye

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Some kind of cool drangonfly.  Blue Dasher I think.

Sundays at Little Walden

 I used to try and go to the Little Walden Butterfly Garden every Sunday,  and I did not really plan to go last week, but I just happened to pass by AND had my camera with me (have got to get back in the habit of taking it everywhere!) so I decided to stop.  It was pretty dang hot, so I didn't stay long, but I did get a few pics.

Eastern Tailed-Blue - I love these tiny little butterflies

Silver-Spotted Skipper

I don't know a lot about dragonflies, but I think this is a Common Whitetail

I also did some herb gardening this week-end.  

Fairy and Oregano

And I went to the Cobblestone Farmers Market at Old Salem on Saturday.  Took my camera, but my bag filled up pretty quickly and it was so hot (I know - again with the heat excuse) I didn't take any pictures.  The one below I took at home with my iPhone.  It should be cooling down a little this week, so maybe I will try again on Saturday.

Early Morning at Reynolda Gardens

One thing I used to do years ago was go to Reynolda Gardens before work, so I decided to do this Thursday morning, since the days have been so hot.  When I got there the sprinklers were on.  Oh yeah, now I remember!  They weren't on everywhere, but the ground was wet pretty much everywhere.  My feet got soaked, but I did not care, it was so nice.  And I saw some of these:

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

And the water made for some pretty cool pics:

This is my fave.  I used the florescent white balance.  I love the blue tones.  Part of my homework for a year-long online (free) photography class called 'A Year with My Camera'.  It's pretty cool, check it out sometime.  I used the MCON-P01 macro converter on this one.  Not sure if they make these any more, I found one the other day for a pretty decent price and ordered it.  The one I have is kind of old, and has some scratches, but still works good.  I'll be curious to see if there is a difference with the new one. 

Better Late Than Never?

So I am going to pick up where I left off - almost 7 years ago!  Let's just say sometimes life circumstances take over, and not always in a good way.  Anyway, I'm back and excited to get out there again.  I have taken some pictures on and off, but not like I used to.  One thing that happened in my absence was that I got a new camera, an Olympus OM-D E-M5.  A great camera I am sure, but I never really got to know it like my E-PL1.  So this past week-end I decided to go back and try the E-PL1 again, and there was that old spark!  I don't have any new butterfly pics yet, but here is one I did take with the E-M5 5 years ago.  This one was featured in 'Explore' on Flickr, so that was pretty exciting for me.

Monarch at Reynolda Gardens

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

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