I have a garden of Zinnias in my backyard which the butterflies love. I saw something flying around the other day and went out with my camera. This Painted Lady butterfly was feeding on the pink Zinnia. He just put his head up and looked at me.
Amazing that you can see his little eyes and nose and mouth. Wow! Have you ever seen anything like that? It was like he was posing for the photograph. Ha!
I have been surprised at how many Painted Lady butterflies there are so late in the season.
Milkweed wildflower seeds are ready to blow wherever they want here on Cape Cod. You can see the pods are open and bursting with white fluff and attached seeds. The seeds will just disperse in the wind.
The Milkweed plant is the stable plant that the beautiful Monarch butterflies feed upon. There are a lot of Milkweed plants all over Cape Cod where you can see the Monarchs.
I saw this Milkweed plant at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary where you can see many Monarchs in the summer months. I also have seen many Milkweed plants at Fort Hill which is also a favorite place of the Monarch butterflies.
I wonder if the seeds will still be there the next time I visit the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
Most of the butterflies are gone for the year but I saw this Yellowpatch Skipper feeding on a Knapweed wildflower. The colors of the skipper were shades of orange and brown. I had never seen one before.
Skippers, part of the butterfly family, are named for their quick, darting flight habits. Most have the antenna tip modified into a narrow hook-like projection which you can see in the photograph.
The leaves are starting to turn colors as the days are getting shorter and cooler. I loved this photograph of the reflections from the Silver Spring Trail at the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. There were so many Lily Pads in the water, but their flowers had gone by quite a while ago.
The Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary has so much to offer. We see something new each time we go. It is such a treat!
It was pouring rain a few days ago when this Hairy Woodpecker clung to the side our our pine tree for it seemed like hours… maybe a good half hour. It seemed like such a long time. I had never seen a woodpecker stay in the same place for so long, especially in the daytime.
I guess it was raining so hard, this was the best place he could find to hang out!
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.