Photos: Red-Spotted Purple, Teensy, & Wild Prairie Roses

This is a Red-Spotted Purple butterfly, a rarity in our area. They are more often seen in the eastern half of the United States. It seems to have had a rough life so far. It found a little puddle of water on the sidewalk from when I watered the flowers, and is refreshing itself.

It flitted around me as I refilled the birdbaths and watered the porch flowers, taking notice of my brightly flowered skirt and then stopping on the porch to drink some of the water splashed there.  It's a hot, hot day -- 95°, with a heat index of 107°.

Over on the other side of the porch is Teensy, lying in the shade and busily bug-watching.  

The Wild Prairie roses are blooming profusely.

Photos: Clematis, Ebony Jewelwing, & Empty Nest Syndrome

Several more clematis bloomed today.

Teensy, just waking up from a nap.

Ebony jewelwing, aka black-winged damselfly

Impatiens

Succulent bud

Asiatic lilies and tiger lilies

Ebony jewelwing, aka black-winged damselfly

And then somebuddy scared the jewelwing away.

Wild Prairie rose

Impatiens

Impatiens

Succulent buds

Succulent bud

Empty Nest Syndrome

The baby doves have all flown away.

Old-Fashioned roses

Photos: Baby Doves Growing Up... Peaches... Mulberries...

Yesterday, the papa mourning dove was shielding his babies from the hot afternoon sun.  There are either two or three babies... I was never able to tell for sure.

This afternoon, all are gone but one active little straggler, who is quite fond of the home nest.

He hops clear out of the nest, stands on supporting branches...

...then looks back at the nest --

-- and jumps right back into it, like a high-diver a little too scared to take the leap.

He squawks for food...

...but no food is forthcoming.

"Ah, well.  I'll just take a nap."

The first clematis has bloomed.

Stella d'Oro daylilies

Wandering Glider, Pantala flavescens

Just look at that big grin he's giving me!

Tiger lilies and Asiatic lilies

Asiatic lilies

Milkweed

Milkweed buds

Tiger lilies

Peaches

The mulberries are getting ripe, and I found another white mulberry tree. Some years those mulberries are bland or bitter; but this year they’re totally scrumptious.

Purple poppy mallow

The purple mulberries are good, too.

Purple mulberries

Eurasian collared dove and the smaller mourning dove on the back deck, eating bird seed that the smaller birds have dropped from the feeders.

This collared dove seems unconcerned about the mourning dove.

His mate, however, is not so congenial!

She trots right at the mourning dove, hovers over him in an intimidating mien... 

...threatens him ---

--- until he flies off.  Look at his pretty, spread tail feathers.

She marches over to her mate to inform him that the alien has been successfully dispensed with.