She's not a lady

I incorrectly id'd her as a Painted Lady but she is, in fact, a Red Admiral - a butterfly that is widespread in the US and Europe.  Haven't seen many of these this summer so had to grab a couple of quick shots while this one was visiting the buddleia this morning.  Good thing I snapped when I could, because moments later, it was gone.  

In other butterfly news... Monarchs 61, 62, and 63 emerged today.  Numbers 61 and 62 have been set free; I'll probably keep 63 overnight as she eclosed rather late in the afternoon (stubborn thing) and let her go in the morning.  I'm also starting to see more and more migrant monarchs in the garden right now which is nice.  Maybe, given enough time, their numbers will increase to what they were 10 years ago.  I hope.  

Hubs discovered a ground nest of the hated Yellow Jacket wasps this afternoon.  They are nasty things and one of the only creatures I'll sanction killing.  The nest is well away from my gardens, so Hubs and I will go out after dark and spray into the hole, hopefully killing all of them.  Finding the nest explains why I've been seeing so many around the garden.  The nasty things chase the hummingbirds and won't hesitate to bite humans either, which is very painful and unpleasant.  So, reluctantly, we're on a kill-mission tonight after the sets (when all of the buggers will be in the nest.)

Still have a few hummers in the yard, including one who was putting on a very fearsome show this afternoon.  I've put him on Flickr, along with a very late season clearwing moth and a mealie-eating titmouse, all starting HERE

Don't forget to check out all the terrific TinyTuesday entries - as usual, there are some really great images and I will, once again, have a very hard time picking my favorites.  

Cheers,
Debbi