Never Trust A Frog!

  One of the pathways in the Small Gardens winds through the zinnia beds and opens right up to Puddle Pond.  From there, you have the option of heading back around to the veggie plot or cross the small bridge that spans Pebble Creek.  The zinnia beds are one of my favorite spots as they have been in full bloom for the past few months.  Not only are the flowers beautiful, they attract hundreds of bees and butterflies each day.  These critters also have the nearby water supply so they are happy campers.  Well, all except one.  One did not fare so well this morning.

  A Gulf Fritillary Butterfly decided to forgo the zinnias and head for one of the water hyacinths in Puddle Pond.  Those blooms are rarely visited by butterflies so I was a bit confused as to why it chose it as a resting spot.  True, it has nectar but most butterflies seem to prefer the reds and oranges of the zinnias over the lavender hyacinth.  The small butterfly alit on the flower and was immediately the catch of a predator.  One of the Bronze Frogs in the pond took advantage of the ready meal.  Bloop!  The butterfly was gone in a second!  Obviously, the butterfly needed to make better choices in life and paid dearly for his rash decision!  No more butterfly!  Sneaky fat frog!  

Orange Butterflies and Autumn Dreams

   About this time every year, I begin to have a yearning for autumn.  I am tired of summer.  Autumn needs to hurry on its way and it needs to make everything instantly change...just for me.  I need red leaves.  I need cooler weather.  I need pumpkins!!!  There!  I said it!  Fall, where are you?

  This morning, I awoke to a certain briskness in the air.  A slight north wind played on the brain enough to send thoughts of Autumn arriving early this year.  Then, a butterfly decided that it would add its flair to the bucket.  A Gulf Fritillary alit on an orange zinnia and sat basking in the early morning sunlight.  The fritillaries do a migration for the winter months so come late summer or early fall here, and we start seeing masses of them.   Between these, the Monarchs and the Viceroys, the gardens appear to have orange flowers leaping from the stalks!  (For any who wish to plant gardens strictly to attract butterflies, I recommend planting zinnias.  Buy a pack of seeds from the local dollar store and you will have zinnias for life.  The seeds are easily dried and saved.)

  Back to my wish of an early autumn, that will all have to be a wait and see game.  One thing I have learned is that you can never change the weather or push the seasons, no matter how hard you try.  Still, that does not keep one from dreaming and I shall dream of cooler weather to come.

The Question Mark

  Down behind the canebrake, there is one spot that gets direct beams from the sun in the late afternoon.  The trees block most of the ambient light but one shaft of light causes a bright splotch right between the canebrake and a large maple tree.  During my hikes around the marsh edge to the back of the creek, the canopy of trees almost gives the path a tunnel-effect.  That one brilliantly illuminated spot can be seen long before I reach the actual spot.  It was there that I found the Question Marks!

  As far back as the wild persimmon grove, I could see something fluttering in the sunbeams ahead.  It took a few minutes before I could actually identify the orange flutters but, once I did, I was amused at the antics.  There were five Question Mark Butterflies flitting about in the sunshine.  Several would try to "rest" on the dried leaves or downed twigs but they would be immediately "attacked" by the others.  This was a fine show of territorial rights and only the strongest would be allowed the comfort of the sunny, wind-free spot.  The others would have to seek another spot.  The strongest would stay, mate and lay eggs.

  Question Mark Butterfly is a strange name for an insect but it is named as such for a good reason.  While I could not get a photograph of the underside of the insect, it has a definitive sign on its hind wings.  On the underside of its hind wing, there is a pearly white "question mark" in the markings.  Other than that signature mark, the underside of the butterfly is relatively nondescript.  The outer part is beautifully colorful.  Bright orange base color, black dots and white edging on the "sculpted" wings give the tiny butterfly quite the elegant flare!  In the "winter" mode (those early butterflies), the wings show more orange but the "summer mode" ones have a good bit of black on the hind wings.

  The butterflies this evening put on quite the show.  Their territorial behavior was rather amusing as there is plenty of space for all of them.  I am assuming that these all hatched nearby and the adults wish to linger here as there is a ready supply of fruit castoffs for them in the compost pile.  The caterpillars (like most) eat leaves but the adult Question Mark Butterflies prefer to eat the juices from rotting fruit.  Odd meal but, hey, whatever makes them happy.  Just watching the butterflies made me happy so who am I to question their meal of choice?