butterfly at Duke Forest

I took these pictures of a butterfly in Duke Forest, about a mile above the Concrete Bridge Road, next to the river. When I crept closer the fellow flew off but not before I snapped a picture of him leaving.

I like how the sun lights up the wings of the flittery thing.

Beetles, a magnolia bloom and a butterfly

Here's two pictures I just took in my yard a few minutes ago. The title up above pretty much tells the whole story. I'm going to post this on my regular blog also since I've wasn't feeling too inspired today.



Above, as you can see, we have a fading magnolia bloom that is providing living space for a few beetles. Not the guitar wielding type tho. And below we have a butterfly that's sipping some nectar just a few feet away from the magnolia tree.

Flying Tiger

I took these pictures on Saturday before some annoying rain moved into the area.

In the picture above you can see the Monarch from the side. I usually don't see how vividly the body is striped so I was glad to have captured this picture with a pretty sharp focus. Taking pics of butterflies, especially in a breeze, is really hit or miss.

The picture below is a more typical shot showing the butterfly from the top angle looking down on its wings.