June Butterflies, Moth, and Frog UPDATED

June has consistently been in the 80s and sometimes in the 90s (far too early for that in the mountains!).  I emptied my rain barrel  twice to water the garden so rain has definitely been less than needed.  Today has been the first completely cloudy day so I am finally getting around to doing post.

Two things seem to love this weather:  fireflies and butterfly weed (or as I call it orange milkweed).

 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Black       June 15, 2014

From this angle, you can't see the orange spots but another showed it so I believe it is a female. 

 Great Spangled Fritillary   June 15, 2014

The fritillary butterfly finds the orange milkweed irresistible with as many as five on it one day.  I learned that violets are the host caterpillar plant so I am glad I let lots of violets grow in my yard.

The Neighbor Moth   Haploa contigua   June 28, 2014

I posted on the group "Moths of the Eastern United States" on Facebook.  Within an hour, some one identified it.  None of my field guides have many moths in there so if you know of a good field guide, let me know.


 

We finally got a frog in our waterfall.  He is only about 1-1/2 inch long so it is hard to take a photo.  I hope he stays around awhile so I can identify him.

 Here's another photo of him.  The closest match on my Audubon iPad app is the Southern Leopard Frog which is fairly common around ponds.

 This toad was sitting under our deck light for a couple of evenings, waiting for  an easy meal.  He has not been seen since so I hope a snake did not get him but that he decided it was not so easy after all.

I have not gone on too many nature walks because we had several bear sightings, one in the driveway and then in the backyard.   My blackberries are starting to ripen so I am afraid he will be back!

Digital Frame & Frogs/Toads I Like!

My husband gave me a digital frame for Christmas. At first, I thought I didn't want one because I have framed photographs around the house. Also, the frame uses electricity (11 watts per hour). But, I figured it was a gift so I went through all my photographs, downsizing them, and then put them on the frame. I set it up and now I have about 150 photographs on a slide show--some from my blog, travels, and some unpublished. We only use the frame for less than an hour a day so my worries about electricity were unfounded. This frame will hold 315 photos (about 800 x 600 pixels max. each, 8 megapixels resolution). At the end of this blog, there is more discussion of this frame.

Now, we both enjoy seeing the photographs as a slide show. I am learning which photographs are best and how I can improve on my photography techniques. Also, I see which photographs should be retaken (Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Sapsucker).

At this time of year, I enjoy seeing the spring ones. I discovered a had a few good photos that went unpublished. From these, I wanted to show the frogs.....


A Spring Peeper (only about 1-1/2") was calling just outside our house in 2007. The little guy did not mind the flash on the camera and kept calling. This reminds me that the peepers may call as early as late February--next month! So, spring cannot be far away.


On the same Burning Bush but a larger branch, I snapped this photo of a Gray Tree Frog (about 4") in June this year. At first, I thought it was a toad but they aren't in the branches. I identified it by using my Calls of Frogs and Toads CD and listening to the video I had taken (may get that transferred sometime to the blog--that's probably why I didn't post).


Finally, this photo of the American Toad (I think) was taken back in 2006. We have so many of these toads I guess they seem commonplace. But, I enjoy seeing them and know they are good for the garden where they live in some rocks I have stacked up at the edge--no sense buying a toad house when you can use rocks.

Another feature of the frame I like is that you just hook it up to the computer with a USB cable. Then, the frame is essentially a little hard or flash drive. You can just transfer folders of the photos to the frame. You can also delete photos right on the frame-- too time-consuming because you have to do it one by one by pressing buttons. It's easier to do that on the computer where you can delete many at a time and then transfer the folder to the frame.

Working on my old photo files is a good hobby because I don't like to get out in this cold weather!