A Cat in the Garden

By Jim | Published July 19, 2017




Today I’m featuring another notable find from my recent butterfly garden tour at a wonderful butterfly garden near Paola, Kansas. A couple of butterfly caterpillars (“cats”) were busy feeding on one of the garden plants as I walked the path through the garden. These caterpillars will soon become beautiful Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) butterflies: In […]

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A Cautious Widow Skimmer

By Jim | Published July 17, 2017




While touring a wonderful butterfly garden near Paola, Kansas last week, I found a somewhat wary Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) dragonfly, “hiding” behind a stem on the plant he was perched in: Moving slowly, I was able to move to my right to get an image from a slightly different angle: A short time later, […]

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Eastern Kingbird

By Jim | Published July 12, 2017




Today’s post comes from the Loess Bluffs NWR (formerly called Squaw Creek NWR) in northwest Missouri, as I passed through the area on my way home from the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon. The Eastern Kingbird is a common bird in Missouri. This bird is often seen perched on a tree/shrub limb near an open […]

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Little Bird on the Prairie

By Jim | Published July 5, 2017




While recently photographing at the Neil Smith NWR (near Des Moines, Iowa), I photographed one of the many male Dickcissels I saw/heard on a meadow on the refuge. Dickcissels are very common prairie birds and can be seen and heard singing just about anytime I visit a prairie. Here are a couple of my favorite […]

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Fun Friday: Beautiful in Black

By Jim | Published June 30, 2017




While in Des Moines last weekend for the annual art show, I made some time to drive to the nearby Neil Smith NWR to photograph wildflowers and wildlife. One of the highlights was finding and photographing Ebony Jewell-winged Damselflies. I had found a ton of these beauties when in town last year; this year there […]

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Fun Friday: A Vandal Busted!

By Jim | Published June 23, 2017




(Note: I’m not able to respond to social media right now. I am busy setting up my booth for the “ArtFest Midwest: The ‘Other’ Art Show” art show in Des Moines. If you are a follower and live in the area, the show runs 10:00am – 6:00pm on Saturday, and 10:00am – 5:00pm on Sunday, […]

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My Newest Butterfly Magnet

By Jim | Published June 21, 2017




Today’s post was captured in my rural Missouri butterfly garden a few days ago. The flower is a coneflower, one of 3 plants I received last July in a beautifully arranged planter at my wife’s Celebration of Life service. Last year this plant had a few flowers on it, but this year it has really […]

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Fun Friday: Looking For a Meal

By Jim | Published June 9, 2017




A couple of days ago, I decided to take Rubber Ducky (my kayak) out for a sunrise paddle at a nearby Missouri Conservation Department waterway.  It was a wonderful morning … nice and cool, very little wind, a gorgeous sunrise, and a host of hospitable creatures. One of the colorful inhabitants I found was a […]

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Fun Friday: Organizational Tip

By Jim | Published May 26, 2017




Today’s “Fun Friday” post comes from a brief stop at Loess Bluffs NWR (formerly called “Squaw Creek NWR”) in northwest Missouri, while on my way home from photographing in the Columbia River Gorge. As I drove the 10-mile refuge auto tour route, I came upon a pair of adult Canada Geese with 8 young goslings. […]

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Fun Friday: How Bees Make Honey

By Jim | Published May 19, 2017




Yesterday morning, I decided to go check out Snowball Hill Prairie, a wonderful prairie remnant near my rural Missouri home. This past winter, the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) did a controlled burn on the remaining half of the prairie (the first half was burned in the winter of 2016) and I wanted to see what […]

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