Happily married 55 years, retired baby boomer, mother of 2, grandmother of 4, traveler, Georgia Bulldog fan, Air Force Brat, avid reader, amateur photographer, gardener, ovarian cancer survivor, blogger. Every day is a gift!
This week’s challenge from Ann-Christine is morning.
I’ve always been a morning person and for many years I’ve been the first one up in our house. I start each day by going downstairs to the kitchen to put the kettle on for my morning tea. Next comes quiet time, either in my living room where I can look out the windows, or out in my backyard butterfly garden under the arbor.
Tea in the gardenNature surrounds me in my garden
Hisbiscus
Mexican Sunflower
Sunflower
After my tea I often go for a walk in the neighborhood.
Morning walkBeautiful morning for a walkIt’s nice to see some feathered friends in the morning
This week the challenge comes from Guest Host John Steiner at Journeys With JohnBo. He asked us “If you visited a favorite place more than once, how did you approach the second trip photographically? If you’ve only been somewhere once, what would you do differently the second time around?”
I fell in love with Rocky Mountain National Park when we first visited there in late May, 2011. We spent several days enjoying the wildlife and natural beauty of the park. Snow in the higher elevations added to the adventure.
One day our goal was to drive the Trail Ridge Road all the way to the top to visit the Alpine Visitor’s Center. The road was clear most of the way with deep snow beside the road. I took the above photo when we arrived at Rainbow Curve, at an elevation of about 11,000 feet. Our drive to the Alpine Visitor’s Center would have to wait.
Deep snow along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park in May, 2011
Two years later, in August, 2013, we decided to return to Rocky Mountain National Park on our way home from Alaska. With only one day to explore the park our goal was to see the Alpine Visitor’s Center. We stopped at the Many Curves Overlook on our way to the Trail Ridge Road. The next two photos were taken two years apart at the same overlook. The first is from spring, 2011, the second one from summer, 2013. There was quite a difference the second time around.
View from Many Curves Overlook on May 28, 2011View from Many Curves Overlook in Rocky Mountain National Park in August, 2013
The next two photos are from another overlook in the park. The first is from 2011, the second from 2013.
View from one of the overlooks in Rocky Mountain National Park in May, 2011View from one of the overlooks in Rocky Mountain National Park in August, 2013
Did we make it the Alpine Visitor’s Center the second time around? We sure did and the view from there was spectacular.
Just two days after I posted about the Monarch caterpillars in my butterfly garden the caterpillars are continuing to devour every leaf on several of my milkweed plants. One bite at a time, they chew up a leaf and move on to the next. In just a few days they have stripped some of the plants until there is nothing left but bare stems.
Yesterday morning I counted about 10 caterpillars. One had attached itself in the hose reel on the edge of the flower bed. It was preparing to transform into a chrysalis.
Monarch Caterpillar preparing to make chrysalis
A little while later I settled down in my chair under the arbor to read a book. I was facing the hose reel but was so engrossed in the book I didn’t look up for about 30 minutes. When I finally glanced over at the caterpillar I saw that while I was reading it had become a chrysalis.
Monarch chrysalis day 1
Today there are more caterpillars and less milkweed leaves. They will continue taking their bites until they are full grown and ready to transform into a chrysalis.
Meanwhile, there are still Monarch butterflies flying around in pairs doing their mating dance. I’ve had a hard time getting a picture but I managed to catch this one drinking nectar on a Mexican Sunflower.
Monarch butterfly feeding on Mexican Sunflower
I’ll be keeping my eye on the chrysalis and hope to see a butterfly emerge in about 7 to 10 days.
We are in the middle of the butterfly breeding season. I’ve seen pairs of Monarch butterflies flying around our yard recently and the females have been laying their eggs on milkweed leaves in my small backyard butterfly garden.
This morning I counted seven caterpillars on the milkweed including two different pairs munching on the leaves.
Pair of Monarch Caterpillars on MilkweedPair of monarch caterpillars on milkweed
After about two weeks of eating, the caterpillar will be full grown and will make it’s crysalis. Approximately 10 days later the monarch butterfly will emerge.
For the Day 8 Discover Prompt Michelle chose curve. I browsed through my photo archives to find these curves in bodies of water we have seen during our travels.
On the road to Inverness, ScotlandCreek through the Georgia Salt MarshFive Finger Rapids on the Yukon River.The New River in West VirginiaDead Horse Point State Park in Utah
Wandering Dawgs 