Monochrome Monday

I’ll be driving back to Arizona this morning, planning a detour through Joshua Tree National Park to see what it looks like this time of year and after all the rain. Report and photos to follow of course. 😊

Wordless Wednesday…Things are looking up.

Give me one minute…

and three seconds and I’ll gift you with what we saw on a chilly beach walk this (Monday) night.

What a bite!

Something had a nip at this butterfly but it lived to fly another day and obviously hanging in there. I’m flying (driving, actually) to California today for another rugby 7’s tournament and family time but the weather might not be too cooperative. The storm which is terrorizing California and much of the West and upper Midwest is threatening to dump rain on southern California, a 90% chance on Saturday although supposedly clear on Sunday. We’ll see. I have rain gear, although not heavy-duty, heavy-duty large garbage bags to serve as coats and over-the-knee-coverage as needed, as well as umbrellas. In 2014 at a stage of the Tour de France, garbage bags saved the day and that of the French couple next to us, so don’t discount them. Anyway…

Not sure how much I’ll be online but I leave you with this lovely butterfly and best wishes for a good weekend. I imagine I might be posting from the road if circumstances are right. 🙂

Fan dancing in Costa Rica

Monday Walk…through the butterfly garden

Last year, Donna of Wind Kisses and I met at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden for some friend and relaxation time. I decided that I’d do a very brave thing and not bring my Nikon, as I wanted to be able to listen and chat rather than constantly be taking pictures. It wasn’t easy!! I did have my phone, though, and I was very glad when we discovered that the Butterfly Pavilion was open. Naturally I succumbed to the lure of the butterflies, calling my iPhone into action.

I’ll start with one you’ll all know.

I didn’t know that almost half the butterfly species in North America can be found in Arizona, although there weren’t 362 1/2 species in the Pavilion. See which ones I spotted and held still long enough to be immortalized by my iPhone.

Here’s the butterfly baby nursery where you can see them hanging around waiting to emerge. More fun than bats, don’t you think, although I must say that I do like the fact that bats eat mosquitoes and other annoying bugs.

There was no cake involved but we did enjoy a tasty lunch in the restaurant after browsing and resisting the gift shop. A very goo day!

Jo’s Monday Walk…2.20.23

Friday flowers…bougainvillea

FOTD…2.9.23

Gold

There’s something always cheerful about a goldfinch. Seeing one makes my heart soar. This one at Tucson’s Sweetwater Wetlands was enjoying a dip in the water. This sort of gold is beyond price, a small piece of sunshine to brighten the day.

Breaking news!! I’ve just been informed that this is a male yellow warbler, not a goldfinch. Sigh. Sorry about that. 😬 But he’s still a bright, beautiful gold! Thanks, Deborah, my birding friend and expert.

Wordless Wednesday…Mr. Magoo

Pinterest

Nature’s biplane

Dragonflies claim my attention any time I see one. If aliens insects invade the world, ala the old sci-fi movies, I hope they’re dragonflies. At least they’ll look beautiful doing it, although I suppose it depends how big they are! The phrase “Gossamer wings” could have been written to describe these wings.

It was just one of those nights
Just one of those fabulous flights
A trip to the moon on gossamer wings
Just one of those things*

*From “Just One of Those Things”, written by Cole Porter for the 1935 musical Jubilee.