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.:)

It's been a rough week, but I had a few moments of enjoyment

It's been a rough week, but I had a few moments of enjoyment. So many interesting critters and moments that made me smile when I needed it most.

Angry bird! Both parent mockingbirds are very territorial when they are nesting and will defend their nests from any animals they think are predators. This northern mockingbird was quite cross with me!

 I saved this poor fellow from a visiting field trip group. He was missing two legs. :(

 Rose glow

 One of the scorpions I relocated from one of the outside umbrellas. :)

 Took some photos of these old flower husks before noticing something interesting...

These little guys were using them as shelters! :)

New Family!

The Springs Preserve welcomed some new family members- baby antelope squirrels! Cuteness overload! :D

 The first brave souls wandering from the den

 And another...

 Soon the entire crew came out to pose! :)

Chain reaction

 Datura writghii or “Sacred Datura” or “Jimsonweed”

 Datura writghii bud

 Beauty never truly fades

My Monday

Wednesday is my Monday and the beginning of a hectic week here at Springs Preserve (Ice Cream Festival this Saturday!). It was nice to start my day in the calm beauty of the garden.

 This honey bee was resting and let me take a nice photo before flying away.

 Purple daisy

 I love pink bladder sage

 Apache plume

Red lily

 The apple tree is laden with fruit

Chaste tree

Last picture of the day...

May Days

We have had a seasonally cool May here in Las Vegas and it has been most wonderful. My walks are filled with cool breezes and an abundance of flowering plants in the gardens. I hope to get another lens soon so that I can take more advantage of the birds and wildlife here at Springs Preserve.

 Palo Verde tree

 Chuckwalla

Black collared lizard

 Imposter flower

 Arizona Milkweed (Asclepias angustifolia)

 Cleveland sage

 Funnel web spider enjoying some dinner

Dove

May Flowers

My husband wants me to take some photos of warm-blooded things, but he will have to wait a little bit longer. :)

The Easter lily cactus blooms continue to stun

Pink cone flower

Greek myrtle

 Funnel web spider

 Blue frosted banner butterfly with wings open...

 And  Blue frosted banner butterfly with wings closed

 Isabella longwing