Rain, Slugs, and Bugs

So the rain brought out Slugs and bugs...

And very cool fungi. Some sort of slime mold??? 

Found Black Nightshade. Nasty stuff.

Slug heads in Fungi.

Witch's butter perhaps? Being guarded by my tiny soldiers.

Bright yellow slime mold. Some of it creeping over the Witch's Butter.

Chicken of the Woods? Old?

Grasshopper.

A sluggo stand off...

A very cheerful dog enjoying the cooler weather...

Ready???

Hummingbird Moth!

This is the fastest moving moth I have ever encountered and this is only the second time in 30 years that I've seen one. The first time I could only watch and wonder.

It probably took at least 30 or more tries before I finally got half way decent shot of this moth.

It's wings are translucent and it is sort of beautiful and ugly at the same time. 

That was my rainy day. Not that interesting unless you are a bug or slug or some sort of slime mold.

However.

I had some very cool stuff happen today. Thursday. I'm still mulling it over.

 

Flutter by ... Butterfly

I went to pick the peppers and tomatoes for processing Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday.
The forecasters in our area have called for heavy rain, flash flooding, a brief tornado, and generally some really crappy weather for later this week.

In fact they are predicting several rounds of thunderstorms which will produce flooding again.
Oh.

So I decided I best save what I can from the garden and get it put on the porch out of the weather.

However I didn't plan on seeing all of this beautiful insect activity.

So I ran back to the house and grabbed a camera.

The macro camera was a poor choice as I soon found that the Monarch's would startle if I got close to them. I pulled out my old zoom lens.

Everywhere I turned there was activity going on.

And then the flight of Monarch Butterflies, dozens of them everywhere! Swirling and dancing.

Not a great shot, but I was trying to follow it. This lens is a kit zoom and it doesn't focus as quickly as the pro lenses.

But, I did get some nice shots never the less.

After about 45 minutes the sky darkened and it threatened to rain. I watched as all the insects except the squash bugs seemed to disappear.

I was so delighted to have seen dozens of Monarchs.
I think it made my whole day.

Color me happy with flutter...byes..