Cabbage White Butterfly On My Zinnia On Cape Cod

I planted a lot of flowers in my yard here on Cape Cod to try to attract the butterflies and hummingbirds. This White Cabbage butterfly liked my Zinnias the best!

A White Cabbage butterfly is about 1 and 5/8″ with black on its forewing tips. The male has one black spot and the female has 2 black spots, so this is a female.

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After she had her fill of the Zinnias, she alighted on the rock slab at the base of our bird bath and spread her wings, showing her true colors.

Pretty butterfly, don’t you think?

Baby Red-Tailed Hawk In Our Yard On Cape Cod

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We knew there was a nest of Red-Tailed Hawks high in  a tree in our yard here on Cape Cod. It has been so much fun watching the parents fly in and build the nest and then tend to the young, bringing them food.

Finally this little one fledged and spends most of its time in our yard, flying from tree to tree. It will sit there on a branch and cry for hours until the mom comes and feeds it. It is just adorable.

Well, the other Day I came home from a bike ride and Phil said, “Come in very quietly.” And the little guy was sitting in our bird bath, splashing away, first his head, then one wing and then the other wing. He would then take a nice drink, gargling away.  Phil said he’d been there for over 30 minutes already. He entertained us for at least another 10 minutes and then flew away.

We feel like we have a bird nursery in our yard. So many little ones, but this is definitely the cutest!

Pretty Spotted Wintergreen Wildflowers On Cape Cod

I was taking a walk the other day when I saw this pretty little Spotted Wintergreen wildflower. I did not know what it was until I got home and could look in my wildflower book.

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The white, waxy flowers grow facing downward ( as seen in the second photograph) and then when they  bloom they face upward toward the sun.

Have you ever seen a Spotted Wintergreen? So pretty!

Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.