Flying flowers

I never really got into watching butterflies before, which is strange because I like to watch birds and look at flowers and butterflies are kind of like flying flowers, aren't they?

But I have this old hummingbird feeder on my deck. It needs to be replaced, so it leaks sugar water all over and attracts not only hummingbirds, but flies, bees, earwigs, ants and... butterflies! Then, my mother-in-law bought me a pretty butterfly bush for my birthday. I haven't planted it yet, so it's also on my deck, and I made a "butterfly pie" in an old pie tin with mud, salt and rotten fruit because I heard butterflies like it.

I have been getting a lot of butterflies to watch over the past week or so, and it's so fun! They're really hard to photograph because they're kind of shy and they don't sit still, but I went out yesterday and tried to get photos of a few of them. Some of them are blurry, but they're pretty anyway.

So, here are my fluttery friends.

This little guy was funny this morning. First, he stuck his head in the hole on the hummingbird feeder, as if he was checking it out before he drank from it.



Then he stuck his proboscis into the hole and sipped through his personal straw to get the good stuff.



Then, I got too close for comfort and he rolled up his proboscis and looked at me before fluttering away.



I wish I knew more about kinds of butterflies. Maybe I'll get a book or something. I don't know what to call them.

There's this colorful one.



and this black-and-blue one







And sometimes he hangs out with a monarch (I think) on the butterfly plant



The monarch





So, there you have it. My flying flower garden.