Chasing butterflies

I caught this rainbow out our front door Weds. night between rains. We again missed the bad stuff as downtown KC and parts north received 3 inches of rain in a hour and had streets flooding and people stranded in their cars.

Here, I caught a monarch laying her egg on our milkweed this was Weds. nite before the first rain.

Today we went to Cooley Lake Conservation Area looking for butterflies and dragonflies. (I can not capture the dragonflies with my little point and shoot. ) We stopped first for lunch in Orrick at the Fuddlers Cove restaurant, it's a nice little place. Ken had to call his brother first to check where it was (Orrick is a 2 block town) but he learned his brother, Don, had slipped and broken his ankle Weds. nite and was on his way to see his doctor.

We got photos of this Viceroy at Cooley, one of the few that was nice enough to pose, we saw a Painted Lady, Tiger Swallowtails, one we think was a Mourning Cloak and a couple we couldn't identify. Ken took photos of several kinds of dragon and damsel flies.

We find that thistles are one of butterflies favorite wildflowers as you see here with the Black Swallowtail.

"She's a grand old flag, she's a high flying flag"

Have a fun and safe 4th of July!!!