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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Monday, October 1, 2007

my first monarch

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which,if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

shortly before dusk a couple of nights ago, i was eating my dinner on the back porch when i spotted a rather large orange butterfly flitting about in my garden. i left my dinner to scurry indoors for my camera. gladly this lovely creature was still stationery on the mexican petunia.



it was difficult to get close enough to snap so this is as good as it gets. it's a first for me. i don't recall seeing any other monarchs this year... and haven't seen this one since. sorry, i don't know enough to determine if this is a queen or a soldier.

today i'm posting some photos i've taken of butterflies and other critters in my garden over the past couple of weeks. my attempts to identify them are my best shot. if i am incorrect on any of them, i welcome assistance.


spicebush swallowtail on penta

The green grass and the happy skies court the fluttering butterflies. ~Astrid Alauda


skipper of some variety

The butterfly is a flying flower,The flower a tethered butterfly.~Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail- i chased this one into my neighbor's yard and back again - these guys are really large and fun to see swishing about.



cassius blue-- okay-- i am completely fascinated by these little fellows. you may have seen another one i included in a post a few weeks ago. in the photo it is difficult to imagine they are only about 1/4 of an inch.

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~Maya Angelou



is this a banana spider?


this guy needs a serious manicure


mr. squirrel stopped his high-speed chase to check on me



ants and scaly bugs on mexican petunia- the amazing food chain

We are closer to the ants than to butterflies.
Very few people can endure much leisure. ~Gerald Brenan

7 comments:

  1. Radical macro! I think your tiger is actually a Giant Swallowtail. Wish we saw those more often. I've given up on ID'ing about 98% of the skippers. Nice captures!

    Here's a pretty interesting blurb about banana spiders.

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  2. PS... SUPER job catching the Blue! 8-]

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  3. sophie: thanks so much for the kudos. I thought the same thing about the Giant except this one is all yellow on the upper side as well as the underside??? thanks for the link to the banana spider- i made it official on the post.

    i keep chasing those blues around... just for the challenge i suspect.

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  4. Meems, the markings in your photo say Giant. They do have quite a bit of yellow on the upper wings. Could it have been a trick of the light or some such?

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  5. sophie: i am sure you are correct -this ID'ing process is challenging for me for sure. i REALLY appreciate your expertise!

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  6. meems:

    WHERE I HAVE BEEN to have missed this post?!?! Awesome snaps. I'm very impressed by your camera and by YOU. Some of your "subjects" give me the heebiejeebies but I'm sure I know at least one little guy who would have been THRILLED to see the wigglewiggle!

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  7. what a groovy post. i lovely seeing the little critters. some i'm glad that they are in your garden and not mine.

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


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