Today, I thought I would share some happy things that are going on in our garden. Phillip took these pictures this past week, be sure to click on them for a closer view!
I am sharing my dill plant with a few Swallowtail caterpillars.
They aren't very good at sharing though, they stripped this plant bare in no time at all!
Once a butterfly, they still like to visit my dill plant.
This variety is called a Pipevine Swallowtail.
A busy bees spots a Superbell flower...
Slowly climbs up...
and finally gets a taste of nectar!
Does anyone know the species of this orange and black butterfly?
Click on the picture for a great view of this spider web...
The happiest news of all is that I may finally have a toad living in my garden. I have waited years for this to happen!!
We saw this little guy Saturday night and again on Sunday. The lighting is weird because I took them in the dark with a flash. Isn't he cute?!
Off he goes through the Creeping Jenny. I hope he sticks around!
Thank you for looking at my garden pictures!! After three busy weeks, we are going to be getting back to normal (whatever that is!) around here. I hope you all have a great start to your week!
Kelli isn't it just wonderful to get so close and personal with the butterflies and bees that visit our gardens!! How exciting for you and the children to see the swallowtail caterpillers!!I wait all winter for this!!
ReplyDeleteI believe that butterfly is a
~Pearl Cresent~..caterpillers are dark brown dotted on the back w/ yellow!
Hurrah a toad..that means that you have good ~balance~ in your garden!! (I did have them but the night racoons seem to devour them)
My resident frogs have disappeared also.. :( Happyiness to you NG
I use to love to play with the toads when I was a child. We called them Horney Toads. Haven't even thought of one in years.
ReplyDeleteSusan
So much life, so much beauty. Makes me reflect on the Father. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful pictures Kelli!
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you have wonderful things happening in your sweet garden!
I had hoped to post yesterday that I was so sad to hear of the baby bird!
I had a similar thing happen when I was a little girl and it's so hard on children!
I hope that they are doing better today!
Have a wonderful and blessed day and week ahead!
Love the pictures Kelli. Now please DON'T TOUCH THAT FROG OR YOU WILL GET WARTS! lol
ReplyDeleteYou're pictures made me happy!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize those caterpillars would get on dill too. I know they LOVE fennel. =)
ReplyDeleteYour gardens are so pretty and I am glad you have a toad there now. Do you have a house for him?
Beautiful pictures Kelli! And I love your new blog look! Very pretty header!!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
How beautiful. It is amazing how sometimes we forget how important those insects are for our plants.
ReplyDeleteI love butterflies. They were my great grandmothers favorite things. Thanks for the look into the garden!
Sorry to hear about the bird but glad that Emily is feeling better. Love the photos, especially the ones of the swallowtail larva and butterfly.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a toad house? That would help your toad population.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is lovely as always. The close up shots are so fun. I don't know what butterfly that is, but I wonder if you could google and search.
Hi Kelli, I just love your wildlife photos! I put a few on my blog now and then, of our Aussie birds and critters. I doubt if my camera is good enough to get photos of insects though - yours are great shots!
ReplyDeleteToads? You actually want toads in your yard?? They are a menace here. Frogs are fine, but toads have been wreaking havoc on our environment for years.
Love the spider web! Our neighbors have a toad and I really enjoy hearing it at night. I've heard that spring is truly here when you start hearing the toads!
ReplyDeletePaula
I think spider webs are amazing! And that one didn't disappoint! I don't have a green thumb, so I appreciate all your plant pictures!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all your pictures. I look forward to reading your blog and seeing what pictures you post!
~Jada
What a beautiful garden! I had swallowtail caterpillars on my parsley last year, but they didn't survive. I planted more this year, so hope Momma butterfly comes back and tries again!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pictures and how neat about the toad! You have a beautiful garden.
ReplyDeleteButterflies are one of my favorite things. :) I need to take the time to go outside and enjoy them today.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Mrs. C
Hope the toad is moving in permanently with you, they are such useful creatures and, as you say, very cute. The swallowtail butterfly caterpillars are actually rather beautiful aren't they? Though I probably wouldn't be quite so entranced if it was my dill plant they were eating:)
ReplyDeleteKelli, you asked about my blackberry plants. We did not plant them. When we moved here 5 years ago they were not there. I guess a bird dropped seeds or something. They are on both ends of our shed barn and on the back and side of our smaller shed we call the warehouse. We don't prune them or anything.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures, Kelli! I love looking at the butterflies. We've had so much rain that I haven't been able to see them much. Finally, two days without rains--hooray! Congrats on getting a toad!
ReplyDeletePretty garden-if I were a toad I would love to live there.
ReplyDeleteLast year swallowtail caterpillars ate all my curly-leafed parsley. Those pretty little guys sure can eat.
It's amazing all the life that can be found in one's garden.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteYour blog is beautiful! I also live in Texas and so waterlogged I am not sure what to do! I cannot remember a summer as we are having this year. Nice to 'meet' you.
Hi Kelli,
ReplyDeleteI love your nature photos! The butterflies are all lovely and I'm so very excited about your toad! I know you've been wanting some in your garden. :o)
Beautiful pictures of a beautiful garden. I love toads, too! But, too many of them can get NOISY!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely garden pictures, Kelli. Love the butterflies! As Ruth just said, a lot of toads can get loud; I'm listening to a symphony right now - lol! ;o)
ReplyDeleteYour garden is stunning.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this Happiness in the
ReplyDeleteGarden post much more than the 'Sadness' one! The photos are great and I fell i love with the little caterpillar!
You photos are fabulous. I must get new batteries for my digital. Took 130 photos on Sat. at a friends wedding and ate the batteries. Off to the store and to water the garden. It's so dry here. Are you having rain?
ReplyDeleteHi Kelli,
ReplyDeleteI'm so sad to hear about the sweet baby bird. We've had a couple of similar times in our garden. Once I even saw a crow steal a baby out of it's nest! It still makes me sad to think about it.
In the garden as in all of life there are happy things too. Thanks for sharing yours with us.
Take care.
Hurray! A toad! Creeping Jenny is the cutest name for a plant btw, and I hope that toad sticks around.
ReplyDeleteThe photos of the caterpillars and butterflies are so good. That's really neat how they still visit the dill plant after they become butterflies! Getting the shots of the bee getting nectar must have been fun!
~Melissa
You take incredibly good pictures!
ReplyDeleteI love the frog! We have frogs in our pond and some evenings we will sit and watch them for an hour.
Linda
Wow, a closeup of nature at it's finest!
ReplyDeleteI think, but not sure for certain, the orange and black butterfly could be a species of monarch?
Fantastic photos Kelli, as always, when I come her to visit.
wow, you are an amazing photographer! I love how you captured the most beautiful, yet unseen pieces of nature.
ReplyDeletehope your day is wonderful!
Kelli,
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful garden pictures! (Especially loved the Creeping Jenny photos...)
Hi! I'm Brin. I just discovered your blog this morning through a series of clicks. So happy I did! I'm a fellow homeschooler, Texas resident, and believer, so I thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself. Hello!
Looking forward to going back and reading more about you and your family. Have a blessed week!
Brin
www.messythrillinglife.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing all of the photos with us. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteHI there Kelli!
ReplyDeleteGuess what? I just HAPPENED to get a Butterflies and Moths field guide for Christmas this past year and hoped right on over to it, when you asked about the butterfly. With 35 comments I figured someone would have told you already, but I guess I get to do the honors.
Naturegirl is very close with her guess. It is a field crescent. The pearl cresent has slightly different shaped wings.
Now I am no expert, I only know this because of the picture perfect picture in my guide. :-) I thnk it is KUDOS for having such a good guess right off the top of her head. They must be related or something because they do look VERY similar.
Anyway. HAPPY DAY TO YOU!
Oh, those pictures are are wonderful, especially of the caterpillars. And I am so happy for you that the toad has decided to make a home in your garden. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteJenn4him
www.homeschoolblogger.com/jenn4him
You always have such wonderful photos posted on your blog. I enjoy seeing them very much.
ReplyDeleteI do not like toads though, lol.
Have a great day!
Dear Kelli, I am sorry to hear about the bird. Maybe it is a comfort for Emily that even veterinarians can not solve each animal.
ReplyDeleteOh Kelli, I haven't been here for some while (to to the heat in Germany, I spent most of the day outside) so I almost missed the story of your baby bird.
ReplyDeleteI so much enjoyed the picutres from your garden! Hope you'll get some sun soon, too!
Best wishes, Anita
Beautiful garden!! And the photographs are nice, too!! I love the picture of the spider web!!
ReplyDeleteHis,
Mrs. U