Spring has arrived!

Spring has arrived in souther Kentucky ... our earliest wildflowers are blooming ... Harbinger of Spring, Purple Cress, Rue Anemone and some violets.  A few Mayapples are peeking out!

I have been planting wildflower seeds on walks ... mostly native grasses.

Monarch migration winding down?

Last week we were seeing a dozen Monarchs a day passing by ... today, 4-5.  The Monarch migration might be winding down/

A couple of pictures from our porch below ... frogs visit regularly and a Monarch caterpilar decided to hang out on a rocking chair the last two weeks.  Sue Neal kept an eye on it to get a picture when it emerged by missed it while on a trip to the grocery.  Off to Mexico ... good luck!

Butterflies, Ferns and

Lots of small bucks on the move this weekend ...

 Lots of greenery in the woods with the regular rains we got throughout the summer ...
Below, walking out the woods below our house ... Maidenhair fern and Beech Fern (?).

 

Still some Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (on cup plant)



... and some additional picts ...

 

Passionflower Maypop ...

On a walk early this morning, I stopped by a couple of passionflower colonies.  Since the rewilding of our farm ... no cattle and minimal bush-hogging ... Large colonies have formed.  These colonies are frequented by bumblebees and honeybees.  The fruit is edible and the flower is beautiful ...

 

 

There was a heavy dew and fog this morning ...

Monarchs and other Butterflies ...

School started this week ... Today, I bush-hogged my walking patch and a clover field on our farm.  During that time, I saw eight Monarch butterflies ... on butterfly weed, cup flowers and ironweed.  The one above, was nectaring on zinnias in our garden this morning.

Below, in front of our barn was some deer scat.  A meal for the Question Mark in the center as a Diana Fritallary (?) joins the crowd.

Most of the swallowtails show some wear but these below appear to be newly emerged.  Black swallowtail followed by mostly Eastern Tiger Swallowtails ...

 

 

Honey Harvest and Bucks

This week we took honey off of our hives.  We did all the extraction in a day into 5 gallon buckets.  Our honey this year was darker than ususal ... probably more tree nectar.
Afterwards we put the cappings out on our picnic tables for the bees to clean up.  It only took an hour before the scout bees had found the feast and reported back to hive to bring reinforcements below ...

Ironweed and goldenrod is beginning to bloom ... a sign that fall is not far away.  Also, in the field behind our house,  a group of bucks were gathered with a few does.  The picture quality is not good ... big lens and not much light ...

B

Swallowtails!!!

 

During this very wet summer, we have had an abundance of swallowtails ...
Below ... a Black Swallowtail,  Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (female), Spicebush Swallowtail (? female, greenish), Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (female, black morph), and a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail covered by dew.

 

 

Still seeing a few monaches ...

Our seven acre pollinator conservation field (year one, below) is doing well.  Partridge peas and black-eyed susans blooming last week.