The Odd Sock: Today's walk report: 090715, catching up to the last 2 weekends.

(Sorry, obviously that should be 090714. I haven't started time traveling... not yet.)

Last weekend and this weekend, some of this is the same as the last report with the usual suspects in different situations. It's still very definitely summer in these parts. We had an average daily high of 95.2º over the last 9 days.

083014...

This was a very cooperative Leptotes marina (blue marine) butterfly. This is highly unusual for them. Not only did I manage to get 83 shots off, I did so while also managing to add a Canon 500D close-up to a 70-300mm, then swap that out for a 60mm macro. To top things off, I was "permitted" to sit down in front of my subject during some of the 60mm shots. This shot (#8) was at 150mm with the 500D.

That little tyke was most of my picture taking a week ago, Saturday. Here's one more, shot with the 60mm macro.

083114...

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

Some opuntia flower.

Succulent flowers, no ID.

Crazy squirrel, high up in some squirrelly cactus.

Future palo verde tree.

This mourning dove was entertained by my camera beeping while it was drinking at the fountain.

The leaf of the Canna Lily 'Tropicanna.'

BAM! It's September...

090114, Labor day...

This is the only photo I got. I won't explain why. This is a monarch butterfly, chrysalis. The gold beads are really THAT gold looking. I found 3 of these while I was looking for some seed from the this narrowleaf milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. The other two chrysalides are hanging on a twig about 18" higher in a desert willow tree, Chilopsis linearis. I falsely assumed this cycle was over. I read up. If you don't know about the yearly cycle of this amazing creature you can read about it here. More to follow.

Moving onto this weekend...

090614...

This is a common green darner, Anax junius, it's a male. This is the 1st time I've seen one of these at this particular pond.

Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) on a bridge to the water lily.

Mud dauber wasp and an approaching ant.

Another check on the monarch chrysalides reveals the formation of a wing.

090714...

Butterflies are free.

1st a check on the monarch chrysalides. This was not this defined in person. The chrysalis was in shadows. I did not guess we were as close as we were to seeing a butterfly until I came back from a loop around the garden.

And in looping around the garden I stopped to take these pics...

Apache plume, Fallugia paradoxa,the flower.

Apache plume, Fallugia paradoxa, the flower and the plume.

Battle scarred blue dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis. I was amazed at how well it flew despite its apparent hardships.

Tiny water plants growing in the fountain.

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae).

Palo verde flowers.

A really "hairy" cactus with purple fruit which some animal either hates or likes a lot (I can't tell).

Finally, 50 minutes after the last photo was taken of the monarch chrysalis I discovered this and called Docken over to watch together. I was at some disadvantage trying to position myself without disturbing the newly emerging butterfly and did what I could. The time difference between the 1st image here and the last was 42 minutes.