Month: September 2018

Butterfly, Nature Photography

Butterfly Fascination

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I have been fascinated by Butterflies since I was a young child.  I had a hard time understanding how caterpillars could turn into such ethereal creatures.  When I moved to Texas several years ago, I decided I was going to have a Butterfly garden.  The weather is warm there for longer, and many Butterflies migrate to or through the state.  I could not have imagined how successful that garden would be.  The plants grew vigorously, and before long, the Butterflies arrived in all shapes and sizes.  I would often sit by the garden and just watch them flitting around to the different types of flowers, and I noticed that some were attracted to certain flowers.  It was amazing to watch them. And Black Swallowtails laid eggs on the Dill plants, and the Caterpillars were so cute!

I have tried to create a Butterfly garden in Colorado, but without as much success.  I have seen some interesting Butterflies in the wild, and I actually had three Monarch Caterpillars on my Milkweed, but I never saw the parent Butterflies.  I’ve been lucky, though that I have seen as many different species as I have.  I’m hoping my garden here has better results next year.

Nature Photography

Two Raptor Days/Nights

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I went to Barr Lake Last evening and took some photos of birds and the sunset.  As I was driving out of the park I noticed a Great Horned Owl flying up to the top of a tree along the lake.  It was well after sunset, but there was still a faint bit of light.  I took some photos and I tried to bring out the details (unsuccessfully).  But I did get some good silhouette shots.  This morning, I opened the back door to let the dogs out and there, in front of me, was a Red-tailed Hawk sitting on the fence looking at me.  As I stood there, it kept trying to see how it could get to my dogs, craning it’s neck to see them.  I did not let them out and I went out to shoo it away.  It went over to my neighbor’s fence, but still keeping an eye on my house.  I texted my neighbor who tapped on her window, and he flew the other way, landing on the roof two houses away.  The dogs were dying to go out, so I went out with them.  As soon as we went out, the Hawk flew back toward our yard.  I stood out there waving my arms like crazy and yelling at it to go away.  It went back to my neighbor’s fence.  We went inside, and I’ve been checking everywhere before I let the dogs out. They are small.  It might not be able to pick them up, but it could do a lot of damage with those talons!

Great Horned Owl at Barr Lake – 11 x 17″ Max
Red-tailed Hawk