Summer Close-out, Vol. II

Too many pics to go through, so let's just keep goin'!

 Gulf Fritillary butterfly on a matching zinnia.

 Cracked glass gives the hummer a pink glow.

So excited that the coral vine took off and started blooming for us. And when the hummers found it, that was a real bonus!

 A little symmetry at the office deck feeder.

This sunny day the hummers were showing their shimmering green.

Immature male Ruby-throated hummer.

Bring on the sun!

 Don't know his genus, just a green lizard enjoying the offerings of the morning glory vine before it was removed from the porch rail.

 Blue Gray Gnat Catcher in the Lady Banks rose.

 And in the coral vine.

 Plumbago blue.

 Tiger swallowtail always at the zinnias.

 A rare treat, two-fer at the feeder.

 Got the orange glow goin'.

 And the pink glow.

 Mexican sage bush is popular as they prepare to head south.

 Just a little ruby there on his throat.

Rare to get the tiger swallowtail on the sage.

 At the office deck feeder, showin' all his ruby throat.

And we close out our summer offering with some of our year-round regulars, the Carolina Chickadee. We have been so blessed this summer season with the birds and the blooms. But Autumn offers its own delights. Stay tuned!

Summer Close-out

Once again overwhelmed with the bird activity as the season closed. And now with the quiet season, I have plenty of time to post, and no new pictures. So we'll take care of our abundance of end of summer pics in the garden, yard, and office deck. Enjoy our end-of-season close out.

 The pipevine swallowtail is one of our regular butterflies. The peach colored zinnia complements his colors well.

The tiger swallowtail got a hold of a neon zinnia!

 A sunny Saturday afternoon at the end of my porch afforded me this series of shots of the hummingbird checking out the zinnias, and no one to run her off!

 A rare time with two of the tiger swallowtails visiting the zinnias at the same time.

 Pretty sure this young male Ruby-throated is posing.

 At the office deck feeder, the young male Ruby-throated shows off a little bling.

 Some days I can get a good shot of our wide variety of daily visitors. Like the Black-crested Titmouse, Texas race.

 And the House Finch, and young male Cardinal.

 And the Carolina Chickadee, along with the Lesser Goldfinch.

 Those Scrub Jays are still pecking at the window at the office conference room.

 It's rare to catch a shot of the Chickadee and see those little beady black eyes, they usually get lost in the black feathers of his head.

 This well-lit view allows us to get the shimmer of his green feathers, and detail that is hard to catch when in full flight.

We'll close with this regal pose of the young (immature) male Ruby-throated hummingbird. If you look closely, you'll see somebody hangin' out on the bottom, waiting his turn to get something sweet.

Finishing Off August

The last week of August saw a lot of beautiful butterflies in our garden, and a smattering of birds here and there. Our zinnias are hanging on, so we expect to continue enjoying their color into September. Enjoy as we wrap up the pics of August.

 Good-lookin' male Lesser Goldfinch, close up to the office window.

 Tiger Swallowtail on our purple cone flower.

 And on the marigolds guarding the garden.

 Coming in for a landing on the mother ship of zinnias!

 This morning three female Painted Buntings on the feeder, and not a male to be seen!

 Gulf Fritillary underside.

 And topside!

 Tiger Swallowtail flying over the marigolds.

Prize shot of the Tiger Swallowtail on the purple cone flower.

 Pipevine Swallowtail matching oranges with the zinnia.

 And showin' his blue.

 It was a busy day in the garden, as evidenced by two on the same blossom at one time.