Assorted Bugs

I seem to have a photographic subject calendar or so it seems. Early in the year its Cats and birds at the feeder because it's too nasty to be outside or if it is OK then it's the field birds if there's snow on the ground. A little later in the year it's Snow Geese at Middle Creek or maybe a trip out to see the Harlequin's at Barnegat Lighthouse. After that it's Bluebirds and anything else that shows up at the feeder. Late April and May is dedicated to Warblers and other migrants that show up for a drink or a bath at my waterfall. Best time of year for me, you just never know what's going to pop in next. When the migrants have all headed North it's a bit of a doldrum situation. It's too hot to sit in the blind at the waterfall photographing the resident breeders so it's waiting for the butterflies and flowers. Then it seems it's what bugs I can find in the yard and occasionally shots from up at the hawkwatch. Later in the year I usually manage a trip out to the coast after that I hope to get down to Conowingo Dam for the Eagles. Then it's Christmas and harassing the cats again. Right now it's time for Bugs.

Bee on Joe Pye Weed

Katydid

Lady or Lady Bug as we call her.

Mexican Sunflowers are still going strong

Piggyback Bugs or Fornicating Bugs I'm not sure.

Wheel Bugs. 

Pesky Monarch

 So there I was trying to photograph the Aphids when this newly emerged pesky Monarch kept photobombing me!

Monarch

Monarch

Up at the Hawkwatch

 20 and a few years ago in mid September 1999 this area got swiped by Hurricane Floyd. I remember the rain coming down almost horizontally and hours spent bailing out the basement. A nice thing about that storm was going to Hawk Mountain the next day and seeing a shed load of raptors. Yesterday we got semi swiped by Hurricane Henri and although it is much earlier in the season than 1999 I was hoping for a few raptors up at the 2nd Mountain Hawkwatch. Sadly not much at all. Here's a couple of butterflies from the mountain instead.

Great Spangled Fritillary on Knapweed

Monarch

Monarch

Monarch

Monarch Metamorphosis

 Nature is amazing. I took the first image yesterday afternoon and look what it's turned into this morning. I'll be keeping an eye on progress and hopefully I'll photograph the emergence of a new Monarch.

Saturday Afternoon

Sunday Morning

Been a bit busy doing nothing.

 It's been a over a week since since I posted anything. No excuse just too busy doing nothing in particular.

These are in no particular order. I went up to the Quittaphilla Wetlands as there had been quite a few waders reported. Not much when I went, a few Spotted Sandpipers and a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs. There was a nice Willow Flycatcher (according to my Merlin App) but I never got a shot of him.

It's amazing just how many different species of bee there are visiting my flowers, no idea what they are though.

The Mexican Sunflowers are amazing, they're a real hit for the butterflies. Last year the huge Cherry that took out my shed also took out a large Mimosa Tree in one of the flower beds in the front yard. With the Mimosa gone the flowers are doing so much better. At times there's 4 or 5 Monarch’s chasing each other around and they're obviously procreating as I've found lots of caterpillars munching my Milkweeds. 

Bee on Mountain Mint

Bee on Yellow Coneflower

Another type of Bee on Yellow Cone Flower

Blue Lobelia

Meadow Fritillary

Mexican Sunflower

Monarch Caterpillar turning into a cocoon

Monarch Caterpillars munching Swamp Milkweed

Monarch Cocoon

Purple Loosestrife

Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

New Driveway

The driveway was getting worse so it needed totally renewing. A local company Hoffer Paving has a good reputation and on Friday they came and ripped up the old driveway and laid and compacted a new stone rubble foundation. Yesterday (Tuesday) they returned with lots of heavy machinery and made me a wonderful new driveway. As the temperatures are going to be in the mid 90's I can't drive on it for 5 days. I can't wait. I wish I'd taken more pictures of the machinery as they were laying it yesterday but it was too damn hot and humid. A couple of thunderstorms rolled through last night and that will help the driveway cool down and cure I think.

Before

Before

Ripping Up Old Driveway

I want one of these for yard work!

Dumping new stone foundation

My new driveway.

New Driveway

New Driveway

(the shed's not leaning, it's the iPad camera distortion)

I'm more popular than I thought!

 The Blogger Application has a Statistics option which you can analyze and see who's reading your crappy blog. I rarely look at it because I know the 3 people that read my irregular musings. Or so I thought. I took a look and found that I must be very popular in Sweden all of a sudden. It appears that over a couple of days last week I was inundated with readers from the Scandinavian country. Now I made loads  of business trips to Sweden in the 70's and 80's and I can still count in Swedish though I do have trouble getting my tongue round anything that contains 7. I remember once staying in room 777 in this hotel, that was not easy. Anyway, I digress. I like Sweden and it seems that somebody likes me according to the Stats.

Sunday Morning Photo's

 It's a bright warm Sunday morning with a nice temperature of 75F under a cloudless blue sky. It's nearly lunchtime or it will be by the time I've finished keeping all 3 of my avid readers enthralled with my current post. The 50 yard driveway is all ripped up and has the stone base rolled and compacted ready for the tarmac to be laid on Tuesday. I saw a bit of butterfly activity in the front on the Mexican Sunflowers and Yellow Cone Flower so I popped out and took a few shots. Oliver was looking innocent which is not very often so I took a shot of him too.

Mexican Sunflower

Monarch on Mexican Sunflower

Oliver (don't be fooled, he's a bad bastard)

Zabulon Skipper (I think) might be a Delaware Skipper.

Butterflies are starting to show up in the yard.

While still not as many as think I there should be, the numbers are on the increase in the yard. Out front in one of the few places in the yard that gets pretty much sun all day long I have the Sunflowers, Mexican and Sawtooth, the Joe Pye Weed, Tropical and Swamp Milkweeds and Bee Balm in there but the butterflies are mainly on the last of the Bergamot at the moment. Heres a few from yesterday. 

Spicebush Swallowtail

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Sawtooth Sunflower (I think)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail