Showy Milkweed, Raindrops, And My Mom
Yesterday I photographed these Showy Milkweed blooms in a summer rain. I'd gone up into the Wasatch Mountains to seek some solitude even though it was cloudy.
Yesterday I photographed these Showy Milkweed blooms in a summer rain. I'd gone up into the Wasatch Mountains to seek some solitude even though it was cloudy.
This morning I wanted to share some of the wildflowers I photographed in 2022. Birds are my primary subjects yet I simply can't resist focusing on wildflowers.
I found some blooming Showy Milkweed in Morgan County high in the Wasatch Mountains two days ago and felt compelled to take images of these wonderful wildflowers.
Last week I photographed a fritillary butterfly photobomb a Two-tailed Swallowtail butterfly as it nectared on a Showy Milkweed high in the Wasatch Mountains.
When I returned home and could view my images on a large screen I was able to identify this swallowtail butterfly as a male Two-tailed Swallowtail.
Once again I missed out on photographing Showy Milkweed at the lower elevations of northern Utah but I made up for it by photographing some of these spectacular pink wildflowers high in the Wasatch Mountains yesterday.
I researched Utah's grasshoppers and found out that this is a Two-striped Grasshopper (Melanoplus bivittatus) and even though I may have seen this species of grasshopper before it is a photographic lifer for me.
I missed out on photographing Showy Milkweed in bloom in the lower elevations of northern Utah but not at the higher elevations of the Wasatch Mountains.
Showy Milkweeds are an important source of nectar for butterflies, especially Monarch Butterflies who not only use them as a nectar source but also use them for laying their eggs on and as a larval host.
This is part 2 of my three part series on Wild and Wonderful Antelope Island State Park and it covers some of the wildlife that can be found howling, grazing, buzzing and posing for my camera.