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Saturday, July 8, 2017

Friday's Hunt v. 4.01

It's time for a new round of the alphabet on Friday's Hunt.  This time, there is also a little shift in the prompts - we are not doing week's favourite this time - although we can include it if we wish. Instead, we have two random prompts.  I like the change because I tended to struggle with week's favourite.

The prompts this week are:  Starts with A, Inside, and Sunset.

Starts with A
I'm sharing a moth that I photographed on June 23.  It is the White-spotted Sable moth, which has the scientific name Anania funebris.  Its host plant is goldenrod, and there is plenty of goldenrod in this area.  It's a pretty little moth - I like its orange shoulders!  This moth is also widespread in Europe, which is interesting because we don't share that many moth species between North America and Europe.

Inside
My foxgloves have been delightful this year.  Last year I didn't have any.  I think that the former owner cleared out all the foxgloves from the garden beds just before we moved in.  I was surprised to see so many foxgloves this year, but they are glorious.  I seem to have three main colours - a dark magenta pink, a light peachy colour, and a very pale pink.  I also have a single white one.  I am captivated by the inside of the flowers.  They have such detailed patterns and I like to watch the bees go inside them to gather nectar.  Here are some pictures of the inside view of foxglove flowers.

White

Peach - you can really see the tiny hairs at the flower openings in this shot.

Pale pink

Magenta

Bee bum!

Sunset
It's tricky for me to get good sunset pictures at home.  Our home is surrounded by trees, and most of them are quite tall.  This means that even when I'm on the balcony on the second floor outside our bedroom, I still can't really see the sunset except a bit of colour through the trees.  I took this shot as the sun was setting earlier this week.  I like the way the sun is still shining through the trees.

This shot is from the balcony also, about 20 minutes later than the one above - you can just see the pink-tinged clouds through the trees.  That's about all I ever see for sunset!

I decided to try to get a sunset picture on my way home from my knit night this week, so I took a dirt road to try to find a clear patch of sky (also very difficult given the density of trees in the general area).  I didn't have much luck with that approach, because the gaps in the trees didn't point in the right direction for a good sunset picture.

I suppose I have to go elsewhere to take good sunset shots!

10 comments:

Jackie McGuinness said...

I never could grow foxgloves when we had a garden. Yours are gorgeous!
Thanks for dropping by my blog.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

I love the variety of foxgloves you have in your garden. Well done for trying to get a sunset but I can see it is difficult with those tall trees. Have a lovely weekend.

Tom said...

...foxgloves are a wonderful group and you have some beauties.

Michelle said...

The foxgloves are all gorgeous, and you did a fine job on the sunset from your house!

Jim said...

This is a nice post, Claire. I learned about foxglove, although I've probably seen them before and didn't appreciate them. Your moth find is pretty, I've not seen one like it. Sunsets would be hard taking them through trees. The bottom picture looks inviting. My pocket Sony tends to kill the Reds with red eye stop.
..

porkpal said...

I love your moth pictures, and this specimen is particularly striking.

Anonymous said...

I am always impressed with your knowledge of the moths. Beautiful foxgloves! I like the one with the bee bum--gives it perspective. I do like your first sunset shot. Thanks so much for joining Friday's Hunt. Have a great rest of the week!

Suzanne McClendon said...

Oh what beautiful flowers. I wonder if the foxgloves would grow down in this part of Texas?
I love the way the sun is peeking through those very tall trees. The pink is beautiful.
Have a blessed weekend. :)

Ralph said...

The moth is amazing - in form, it looks like a dancer wearing a long skirt and in motion - lovely capture! Your sunsets are very nice - the subtle hint of color through the trees adds a bit of pastel light upon the land. You were wondering about the Atlantic City bicycles on the Boardwalk, back then you could rent bikes and ride thr, likely from 6-9 a.m. I can't imagine bike rentals after 1978 through the present with the casinos lining the boardwalk. That's too bad, because these was what made for great family vacations when I was young...

Anonymous said...

A week late! mostly because by the end of the week are so many extra things to do that I can't keep up with all the comments, and then on Sunday I do All Seasons, so not a lot of time to catch up!
These flowers are gorgeous - they look big! But also love the moth with her polka dot dress!