Oh! Butterfly

Here's the next series of Butterflies as promised. Hang on, we're going Buttering again!

THE FRITILLARY

This brightly colored orange Butterfly is a Gulf Fritillary. Are you wondering why it's called the Gulf? It's because they are common only in the southern United States. That dark yet bright orange color is unmistakable in the gardens and meadows which makes them easy to spot. I captured this beautiful Gulf Fritillary in the Bradford Robertson Color Garden at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville.

I wanted to share this view of the Gulf Fritillary so that you can see just how beautiful his wings are when they are fully open. What a beautiful bright orange.

Another specifies of the Fritillary is the Great Spangled Fritillary. They are more common and are generally a dull orange with row after row of black spots covering their wings. This beautiful Great Spangled was checking out a purple Thistle at Bernheim in the wildflower meadow.

THE PAINTED LADY

Alright, I admit it. I have too many favorites in the Butterfly family. The Painted Lady is just one more I love. I think it's because when their wings are closed it as thought an artist painted a beautiful pattern on their wings. This beautiful Butterfly was busy pollenating the bushes at Bernheim Arboretum.

Here is the Painted Lady with its wings closed. Can you see what I was talking about? What a pattern. This Painted Lady I captured posting for me atop a Black Eyed Susan at Bernheim a while back.

THE BUCKEYE

Here's a Butterfly that I especially like to photograph when their wings are wide open. Look at those spots. No wonder it's called a Buckeye. These Butterflies are common throughout wildflower fields as was this beautiful Buckeye was the day I captured this image at Bernheim Arboretum some years ago.

THE HUMMINGBIRD MOTH

I couldn't resist showing you the only image I have ever captured of a Hummingbird Moth. Seriously, can you see where they got their name. Mother Nature can really create some oddities. But he is a beauty too. I captured this guy buzzing around the Butterfly Bushes at Bernheim a bit ago.

I hope you enjoyed my second series of Butterflies as I loved sharing them with you. What a variety when you look back across the last two posts. I guess I'm a 'Butter Lover'. Have a wonderful 4th. ENJOY!

Gulf Fritillary

Today was the perfect day to spend the afternoon at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens photographing mums and such. This was my third meetup group gathering to discuss photography. Everyone is so receptive and asks tons of questions and I love being able to help all of them take better nature photography. While we were in the Robinson Color Garden which was filled with mums in every color of the rainbow it seemed, I happened upon this butterfly that had me perplexed as I hadn't seen one before that I could recall.

And by the way, isn't it gorgeous!

After I returned home I Googled butterflies and discovered it is a Gulf Fritillary. It lives and migrates from Argentina and Mexico across the Gulf of Mexico into the southern United States and southern California. Hence its name Gulf Fritillary. In its larvae stage it is poisonous. Notice the black and white stripes. Those are to warn predators of its toxicity and apparently they do a good job as most birds stay away.

One of the things I readily noticed when I was taking these images was its wing span which is quite wide and not common.

Look at that wing span. Seriously, wide.

I wished I could have gotten an image of its under wing which is buff with large silvery spots, but this little guy wasn't haven't none of that. I will be back soon with more images from my visit to Cheekwood today. I hope you are enjoying your weekend. It has been gorgeous here most of the week. I think often of the folks in South Carolina experiencing major flooding. This past year has been notorious for flooding, tornadoes and wildfires. ENJOY!

Purple Pickerel Rush

Venturing out yesterday, yet staying close to Louisville, I decided to visit Bernheim before the dry, scorching heat of long Summer days sets in. I love visiting the Arboretum as Spring gives way to Summer while the vegetation is still rich and lush. I discovered Purple Pickerel Rush blooming along the banks of Lake Nevin. For those of you who aren't familiar with this plant, its actually an aquatic plant that gardeners commonly use in gardens and plant containers, as its hardiness can easily withstand full sun. Blooms vary from vivid blues to various shades of purple. If I had a Life List for flowers, this plant would go on it as I had never before made its acquaintance.



After driving the main parameter of the Arboretum, I parked near the gatehouse to walk back to Lake Nevin to photograph a Heron standing in the shallow water of the lake. Given 'Take a Kid Fishing Day' was in full swing, a father and sons had scared the Heron as they approached the lakefront and off he flew to the far side of the lake. I turned to walk back to the car but spotted some bright color peeking through the trees. I crept down to the water's edge to find this beautiful Pickerel Rush in full bloom. As I snapped a few images, several Silver Spotted Skippers flitted about on the blooms making lunch of the pollen there. Does this butterfly remind you of parchment paper. Every time I see it, that's the thought that comes to mind. Just saying.



In closing, I recently purchased a discounted full version of Adobe Lightroom 5 photo editing software. Lightroom 5 is the last full version you can purchase. Sadly, Adobe has reverted to charging a monthly subscription in lieu of purchasing full software packages after each update. I hate paying monthly subscriptions to anything, and definitely not for photo editing software. I had used Beta versions of Lightroom 3 and 4 in the past. Beta software versions are free to download and use for a limited time. The Beta version stops functioning when the final version is released. I never purchased 3 or 4, but knew when Lightroom 5 was launched, I had to have it as Adobe had added features to this new version that I had been waiting for.

Being familiar with this software already, I dropped these images into it today to see what enhancements I could bring out in the images and I'm really impressed with the outcome. I especially like the sharpening and clarity tools. But all of the various color, exposure and contrast enhancement features are far superior than my Paint or Picasa software. While Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite offers a great deal more features and enhancements, having used it on an old laptop that crashed and the software was lost to me forever, I think Lightroom 5 is perfect for my needs and recommend it as it is fairly inexpensive. You can still find it in full versions on eBay at a discount right now. Have a wonderful Sunday. ENJOY!

Skipper Butterfly, Bernheim

There are Monarchs and Swallowtails and Painted Ladys and Sulphurs of varying colors and then there is the non descript, but still viable Skipper Butterfly. It gets its name because it darts quickly around the flower garden to and fro. No matter why they are called Skippers, they were plentify the day I was photographing a Monarch at Bernheim last July.

On this particular day, the Skipper wasn't darting about, but instead holding steady to the blooms.

They were plentiful and busily sucking away at their bounty as though they had not a care in the world. I'd never seen so many Skippers at one time, but what with the blooms on this bush, I can understand why. ENJOY!

Butterfly Effect

It's hard work getting to that pollen. You have to grasp on to any leaf, any petal, any stalk, any stem. Whatever you can find to hang on to, you hang on, while at the same time, digging in. What a job. All the while it's raining, the sun is beating hot down on you and the wind is blowing you to and fro like a puppet on a string. Yet, you just keep digging in. Again, what a job. It makes me almost glad I'm not one of these beautiful delicate creatives of nature. And instead, I can stand patiently and photograph them while they work. The weekend is a hop and skip away. ENJOY!

The Color Blue

Blue. Blue can be a feeling, a color, a note. Blue can be nature's skies, water, plants, animals, landscape. Hope your Friday the 13th is 'not' blue. Have a great weekend all. ENJOY!

A Walk Around Mustatatuck!

I took a short walk on one of the trails earlier today at Mustatatuck NWR. It was a beautiful fall day and in the low 70's with no humidity. Perfect is a good way to describe it. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. ENJOY!

A Few More Images From Bernheim

Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest, Clermont, Kentucky

When you visit Bernheim Arboretum & Research Forest, you're going to want to stay awhile. This beautiful park is off of I-65 just south of Louisville. Every time I visit, I find a sense of peace and solitude that makes me want to stay for a while. Bernheim has a little bit of everything from wildflower gardens and lakes to forests and of course the arboretum. On this particular day it was a wee bit warm and henceforth most of the park's visitors stayed away. Lucky me! I felt like the park was all mine. I had a quick bite at the visitor center's cafe and took a drive into the forest but most of my time was spent in the arboretum and wildflower gardens. I've visited this park in all four seasons. Autumn boasts bright reds, oranges and yellows and is simply gorgeous. I hope you'll plan a trip if you're in the area. Here are a few of the digital pics I took on my recent visit. Yes, I spent some time in the butterfly garden. Can you blame me.