Butterflies: Flying Flowers

One of the joys of gardening is seeing who comes to visit. In addition to planting for pretty, I also plant for pollinators--specifically butterflies. I have about a dozen butterfly bushes in my flower beds, and there is a reason for these plants to be so named. Each year, more species of butterflies fly, flutter and flit around my flowers. Keeping my camera at hand, I try to capture their images.

In today's post, I'll show just the visitors who have come by so far this year--and that I've been able to photograph. I'm sure there are some I missed. And there's still lots of summer left, and lots of time for new species to arrive. I have yet to see a Great Spangled Fritillary, which is a very pretty butterfly, but I think I love it because of it's name. You can see a photo of one of these creatures in last year's butterfly post.

I'll start with the LBBs: little brown butterflies. At first glance, they look the same; but with a closer inspection, you start to see the subtle differences.

With the help of books and website, I can usually identify the various species that visit. But I'll be the first to admit I'm no expert; in the pictures below, you'll see question marks when I'm making an educated guess.

Little Wood Satyr

Northern Broken Dash?

Male and female Sachem?

Sachem?

Fiery Skipper

Fiery Skipper

Horace's Duskywing

Least Skipper

Silver Spotted Skipper: ventral view

Silver Spotted Skipper: dorsal view

Eastern Comma

Then there are the swallowtails, named for their distinctive long tails.

Spicebush Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Pipevine Swallowtail

Funny thing about eastern tiger swallowtails: not only do males and females look different, but the females also come in both yellow and black versions.

Male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, dark form

Other visitors to my garden include these beauties:

American Lady

Cabbage butterfly

Common checkered skipper?

Red Admiral

Orange sulfur

One of my favorites--and the butterfly that is so easily recognized--is the Monarch. Bright orange and black--and incredibly photogenic--these beauties love to pose for my camera.

Monarch

One of the butterfly identification websites I use is Gardens with Wings. I completely understand the reason for the name. With so many colors, butterflies look like flowers that have taken wing. Like this:

Monarch

And this:

Cover Up

I've shared my home with dogs nearly all my life.  I understand them. They make sense to me, I understand their motivations. They are readable, approachable.

Cats, on the other hand...well, after living with Athena and Dawn for two years, I've come to the conclusion that I will never understand them.

Because, simply put: Cats. Are. Weird.

Case in point: Athena

We feed the two kitties on a buffet in our kitchen. Because the site is just out of reach of dog noses, it ensures that there will be no territorial disputes between canines and felines over whose food is whose. And to protect the surface of said buffet from the bits and pieces of cat food that tend to fling outside the bowls, I put washable placemats underneath. (Who knew cats could be such sloppy eaters?)

Now Miss Athena has a very specific routine when she eats.

After she chows down on her Kitteh Noms, Athena finds a nearby spot to wash herself, while waiting for Dawn to finish. A more efficient eater than her sister, Athena always is done with her meal first. When Dawn walks away--thus giving the All Clear signal--Athena moves in for Bowl Inspection and Cleaning. This is all Normal Cat Behavior. I get it; it makes sense.

And then. (I'm not making this up.) Athena neatly folds the placemats over the empty bowls.

Take a look at the pictures below:

Athena grabs the placemat with her claws

And gently folds one side over the bowl.

Sometimes she'll fold the other side.

The end result

At first Athena wasn't incredibly neat or accurate.

This lovely creation was an interpretation involving the table runner.

And it's not just food that Athena covers. We used to gate the dogs in the dining room when we left the house, and of course provided them with water. Not wanting to ruin our nice hardwood floors, we put the water bowl on a placemat or towel. If we left the bowl there after letting the dogs out, Athena would perform her ritual on that as well.

Athena covering the water bowl.

And lest any reader think this is a one-time event, I present to you the following:

Bowl Inspection and Cleaning

First one side.

Sometimes the other side.

Neatly covered.

I suppose one could say Athena is "burying" the food. But it's so neat. And consistent. And doesn't account for covering a water bowl she doesn't even use. And it's an utterly pointless activity.

Like I said. Cats are weird. But I think that's one of the reasons they're so much fun to have around. And one of the reasons we love them.