It was a gorgeous day so we decided to take a walk on Coast Guard Beach. It was crowded, especially near the lifeguard stands. But as you walk farther down the beach, there were very few people and you could enjoy the ambiance.
This man was especially enjoying some solitude and bliss as he had brought his chair out to the sandbar. It looks very tempting… don’t you think?
I’ve seen many of these Common Wood Nymph butterflies along the sides of the trails here on Cape Cod. I usually see them in the shade. This is the only Wood Nymph species found east of the Mississippi.
Common Wood Nymph are overall tan to dark brown with 2 orange eyespots on their forewings. They frequently have numerous eyespots on the hindwings. This particular one has tiny white eyespots on its hindwings.
Have you ever seen a Common Wood Nymph butterfly?
The Indian Pipe wildflower is another wildflower that I’d never seen until I moved to the Cape. And here it is… in my own backyard. What a treat!
Indian Pipe has no chlorophyll so it is white, not green. It has whitish, scaly stalks that grow to about 4-10″ with nodding waxy 1″ bell-shaped flowers. They grow from July to September. I found these in the woods behind my yard.
Very interesting looking wildflower, don’t you think? Have you ever seen one?
You never know what kinds of birds you will see on Coast Guard Beach on Cape Cod. Today it was the Least Tern. They are such a beautiful bird. (Click on blog link to see other photo.)
I couldn’t figure out whether it was a parent feeding its young or just two Least Terns interacting on the beach. Whichever it was, it was pretty cool to watch.
