Butterflies and Bugs

One of the regular activities at the state park next to our RV park is a butterfly walk. We took that in this afternoon. A park naturalist and a volunteer butterfly expert led the walk.

Some of the volunteers we've seen in the park wore the same khaki and green uniform as the park employees, but these volunteers were different. Mike is a lepidopterist, and his red jacket and soft hat were in sharp contrast to the uniform.
















Sometimes the group had the butterflies surrounded. The people who are really into butterflies came equipped with serious cameras and binoculars.














The expert commented that the cold weather we've had around here lately has reduced the number of butterfly species he sees during a day. During the summer it was 80-90 a day, lately it been only 30-40. Here are pictures of some of the butterflies we saw.





The Queen.






















The American Snout.

















The White Patch.











The White Peacock.













The Fatal Metalmark.












Besides the butterflies, we say a number of other interesting insects. One was a spider that was in the process of wrapping silk threads around a bee that had gotten caught in its web.















Then there's the Mesquite Bug.












And a pair of Cotton Stainers.
















Before going on the butterfly walk we enjoyed a couple of hours of square dancing. Mondays and Thursdays we dance to the calling of Jerry Story, one of Lee's favorite callers. Our new friends Bob and Doris are the couple in the white shirts in this picture.














After the square dance this morning, we stopped at a craft show and sale at Mission Bell to look for removable sequin appliques. I got some for Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Fourth of July. After the removable pressure sensitive glue is allowed to dry on the back of the appliques, they can be put on any shirt. The beauty of this for a fulltime RVer is that we have no room for holiday clothing that can only be worn for a short time each year.

For the last couple of days, I (Lee) have been sending out holiday "cards" by email, and we've gotten some replies. My niece Juli sent greetings--the first communication I've had from her since her dad's funeral over a year ago. It was good to hear from her. We've decided to save trees and postage and simplify our lives, now that we're retired and traveling, so we won't be sending out any paper Christmas cards. That is, unless Ken finds some with a fifth wheel and palm trees in the sunshine--his idea of a great Christmas scene.