Thursday, September 2, 2010

Butterflies: They might not be free, but they are relatively inexpensive. . .

Of course by that I mean, that in order to attract them, it' a good idea to have the right kinds of food-source material in and around your yard.  That generally requires, for folks like Hubs and me, a trip to our favorite nursery, and a few minor - sort of - purchases.  (Plug for a great and helpful bunch The Grass Root, in Waynesville, NC. .If you ever come to the Waynesville area, drop by and introduce yourself!  Tell 'em I sent you!)

OK, once you get to your favorite nursery, find out what sorts if local indigenous plants attract butterflies.  Also ask what other plants are available that will attract these wonderful insects.  Color and nectar are the prime attractants of butterflies, and different butterflies are attracted to different colors or flavors of nectar.  I suggest you go to the following site, here in the USA to surf and find the sorts of butterflies that frequent your area, and what sorts of foods attract them. The site can sometimes be a bit confusing, but once you orient yourself to how it works, this is the one that gives the most information. Or, check out the 'net for other sites you find more helpful.

When I started learning about photography last April, I decided that I wanted to capture the beauty of the area I live.  It was a spectacular Spring, and I didn't want it to go by unrecorded.  This decision was helped along when I found out that photographing people was not my forté, at least not yet!  I took to nature photography with a heart full of passion for the natural world around me, and when I started noticing the assorted varieties of the butterflies and moths (another fascinating insect!) around us, I really wanted to try and get pictures of as many as I could. In order to attract some more, Ashley and I purchased some butterfly bushes.  These wonderful plants bloom all summer and fall with different shades of purple and violet cone-shaped blossoms.  (You'll see some in the photos below.) They are easy to grow (if WE can, ANYBODY can, believe me!), and grow quickly, spreading out in all directions.  They no sooner started blooming than we had several butterfly varieties that had not previously appeared feasting on the abundant nectar.  Clover blossoms are also favorites, as well as raspberry bush leaves, and clematis.  We have a flowering plant on our arbor (can't remember the plant's name - just saw it and liked it!), that turned out to attract my first Viceroy of the year, which came along about two weeks ago!  It was a thrill for me, because I had not seen one up close since I was a young girl.

(The following slide show is an experiment.  Not certain I will use this format again - I don't like the inserted ads.)

I will stop typing and start attaching a slide show of my butterflies and moths that have visited us this beautiful year 2010.  I hope you can enjoy viewing them as much as I have had taking them.  Wonder what more is in store this year, and what next year will bring?  Whatever butterflies come, I don't think I'll ever get

enough. . .


4 comments:

  1. Very impressive collection of photos! And good for you, figuring out how to do a slide show.

    nrhatch

    ReplyDelete
  2. For someone who claims to be new to photography, these are amazing. I can't believe how many variety you've seen. Thanks for sharing these. I like the slide show but agree about the ad.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @agrigirl: Thank you so much, but I'm not satisfied (probably never will be!). It's such fun, and I really do love it, but because of my dissatisfaction, it just spurs me on to do more and more! I got a new b'fly this morning! Yay! BTW, I haven't finished getting it up yet, but I have started a new page on this blog that will be for photos, and I am opening it up to whoever wants to post. Love to have some of yours on there!

    Looking forward someday to getting a REAL camera! Point and shoots like mine, although my Sony is quite good, just can't compare to a DSLR. Someday - if I can come up with the $4K+ the one I want costs! (Sure. . .:-D) (Nikon D-3) Until then, I'm looking to get a good medium price one. My only must-haves are a decent telephoto lens, a multi-setting timer, and a remote, so I can watch and catch birds without scaring them away!

    Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's so cool! I'm not a green thumb AT ALL plus I have no place at my apartment where I could plant anything, but I can look at your pretty butterfly pictures. :-)

    ReplyDelete