Summer Lovin

Summer is in full swing with temps reaching 111F by the weekend. The flowers continue to bloom like the little soldiers they are. We also had a couple of Say's Phoebe fly catchers visit us. They have a very high pitched "PEE-UR" call that kinda sounds like a laser gun. :)

Las Vegas Ablaze

Back in Las Vegas and the temperatures are approaching triple digits. The warmer temperatures can be seen effecting the wildlife here at Springs Preserves. Time to break out my cowboy hat. :)

The honey bees enjoyed the water from some of the outdoor fountains.

 Banded centipede

 This young warbler was clearly showing the effects from the high heat.

 Fly away

 Water drop on a cabbage leaf

 Ablaze in the sun

 Tiny flowers host tiny insects

Columbus Ohio Expedition

I had a chance to stay in Columbus, Ohio for a week and see some green things called trees. Columbus is a wonderful city and home to the Franklin Conservatory and Columbus Zoo. Wonderful city filled with friendly and creative people that made my stay there a most pleasant and memorable one.

Fly By

I was excited to capture a huge tarantula hawk wasp enjoying some milkweed this week. He was pretty annoyed by my flash so I did not push my luck considering these guys are reported to have one of the most painful stings of all invertebrates. I took a couple of shots and then left him to enjoy his flowers.:) On a sad note, the Springs Preserve butterfly habitat will be closing for the season. The temps are now reaching 100F so we will be re-opening the butterfly habitat in the fall. Bye bye until next time butterflies!

 Trantula hawk enjoying some milkweed

The dreaded cazador from Fall Out Vegas!

 Pfft!

 Buckeye

 Southern white

Heating Up

Typical Las Vegas May temps are finally here and we will be in the mid 90s by this afternoon. The cooler temperatures were nice while they lasted, but I did enjoy the gardens this morning before it got too hot.:)