Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Showing posts with label Zebra Swallowtail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zebra Swallowtail. Show all posts

Sunday, December 16, 2012

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things~

These are a few of my favorite posts from this past year~ 

I wanted to share them in one full swoop and loaded them all in neat and tidy.  
When I sat down and began to write, I saw that the entirety of the first half of images loaded up, was no long here.  
Thus said, I shall go from the middle of the year forward and then tag in those missing the last of the month.
It has been a long and difficult two weeks for this family, but I can say that Brittany's health has begun to take a turn for the better this past 24 hours.  
She had to have another surgical procedure done Friday afternoon, and that seems to have brought her fever down to normal for the first time in 2 weeks of hospital stay.  
We are hoping that she can return home mid-week, to her sweet family and us.  
Thank you so very much for the kind comments over the past 2 weeks.
Your words have really be so very much appreciated, and brought much encouragement. 

I am linking up with Mary for:

"Mosaic Monday"


at:
http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com


and


I am linking up with Stewart at:
Wild Bird Wednesday

(http://paying-ready-attention-gallery.blogspot.com.au/)

  How does one choose their favorite images out of the thousands shared in a year...
For me this season, I decided to share some of my "just because" favorites along with some that had special meaning, that many followers of this blog may remember when they were first shared.

The selection above was my entry for the Derby season and below a pair of Mute Swans.  Later, one would be taken by a Coyote.
 I like taking photographs and holding on to those sweet moments when everything seemed perfect~






Remembering the 3 little Screech Owls,
 that my twin sister found in tree by her front stoop~




I always enjoy seeing the many dragonflies during the warmer seasons~


Missing our spring posies, but somewhere in the world, others are being able to enjoy their season with these beauties~



Oh and this darling little fawn, who spent the entire day with me back in late August.  Whenever I see a young deer near our acreage...I have to wonder;')~




For as long as I can remember, I had wanted to photograph a Zebra Swallowtail and late in the summer, I finally had my chance, taken at Foxhollow Farm~



Fresh Peaches, oh yum!

My great surprise toward mid-summer, was in learning that we have our very own natural Italian Honey Bee Colony on our 2 acres.  
As far as I know, it is doing fine~




Then there was my neat find one day, while photographing and I spied this Green Heron hunting from the center of this tree, overlooking the water's edge~




I adore Sphinx Moths, and seek them out all summer~


Last, but not least, was this late Monarch Butterfly...still fresh in my memory, of this past season in nature~


Sunday, August 26, 2012

Finally, at Last, My Very Own Encounter With a Zebra Swallowtail~



 A few years ago, I had my very first encounter ever with one of these amazing butterflies.  
It was a Spring form with 2.5 a inch wingspan.  
The Summer form has a 4.1 inch wingspan.  
My first encounter, ended up with me as usual, chasing it down and getting no image, not even close.  
Then a year ago this past spring, one flew across the gardens and lawn next door, but never stayed to nourish itself and by the time, I went around our fenced it yard, it was no where to be found.  
Then came yesterday and oh my what a great short story.  
I was coming home on Covered Bridge Road, a 2 lane country road, with lots of pasture land.  
We had just passed the entrance to Foxhollow Farm and something caught my peripheral from the left, something large and light coloured, fluttering above the flowers.  I did a quick turn around and guess what...there it was.  I have included an image of the lane, and can you imagine my good fortune to have taken that quick glance and then went for the moment...  
It was so thrilling, and just as soon as I had taken way too many images of a single butterfly, it gave up it's nourishment and flew across the road, and into the cow pasture, and just like that it was gone.  
All I could do was smile and  be very happy.

Happy Monday, happy week to each of you.  

I am linking up with Mary for:
"Mosaic Monday"
at:
http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/