There have been quite a few white-lined sphinx hummingbird moths on my lilac bush just after dark.

There were about 200 Monarchs roosting in the mulberry trees here last night. The most I’ve ever seen in one spot. It was very calm. The second photo is a 30 second exposure shot as the twilight was rapidly fading away. Hopefully there will be even more butterflies this evening.

A Mourning Cloak butterfly feeds on tree sap.

I found this small tree yesterday at Foothills Park that was scraped by deer and the sap had attracted Mourning Cloaks, Question Marks, a Red Admiral, and several flies.

An Eastern Towhee at Foothills Park in Mills county.

Canada Geese at Glenwood Lake Park.

A swarming school of bullheads.

A weather-beaten Mourning Cloak, recently emerged from hibernation. It amazes me how these butterflies are able to sleep through the winter without being frozen to death.

April was especially nice after enduring a tough couple of months of winter weather.

April was also the month I said goodbye to my Blogspot login woes and started up this Wordpress blog. Wordpress is so much more enjoyable to use. I wish I had made the switch sooner.

This was the first Monarch I saw last spring. I posted an open-wing photo last May. I’ve wanted a photo of one of these tattered travelers for a long time.

The lens was partially obscured by a tree branch blowing in the wind. That’s why it looks green. Not exactly the effect I was going for, but I like it anway.

Terry, crowing his little heart out. He’s a nice rooster. He hardly ever attacks people, and even then they’re mostly just scared. Mostly.

I thought it was a puffball growing by my compost bin - until it popped and there was nothing inside. I’ve never seen anything like it.

A strange little puffball-type mushroom I found in my yard. If you know what it is, let me know.

I found this one when I was out mushroom hunting last May. It appears to be from the previous summer.

May 2007 was a very photographically diverse month for me - a grass fire, flooding, fighter planes, plus all the usual stuff. And I almost got a funnel cloud too !!

A Mourning Cloak feeds on an old banana.

A Monarch butterfly on a milkweed plant.

A Question Mark butterfly takes a break from feeding on tomato peels in my compost bin.

August was a great month for butterflies last year. Even though I never got around to posting any, I got quite a few nice photos.

A Fiery Skipper on a Mexican Sunflower.

Life isn’t all nectar & sunshine for little butterflies. Quite a few garden spiders set up housekeeping in the row of zinnias I planted along the edge of my garden.

I spent several evenings earning the trust of this young bunny, who usually did’nt leave the cover of the tall weeds until after sunset.

A Monarch perches on an aphid infested milkweed plant.

This the first Snout I’ve ever seen !! It was in my yard last Saturday.

I saw this Wood Nymph at the Indian Hills campus in Ottumwa a few weeks ago.

A Banded Hairstreak on a cluster of milkweed flowers.

A Red Admiral sits on the chimney in the early evening light.

A Tiger Swallowtail on a Honeysuckle bush at Foothills Park.

Shot this in my driveway.

This faded Monarch is the first arrival I’ve seen this Spring.