Fleeting Garden Beauty

On such a magnificent day I just had to spend some time in the garden with the camera. This buckwheat's white flowers have turned to red. It happens when the white petals fall, and the seeds begin to form. Ed was right behind me cutting down the buckwheat in this bed. Since it is a cover crop, he likes to let it flower, but cut it before it produces seed. The stalks remain right there in the bed. Later on I saw a viceroy butterfly on another bed of buckwheat flowers. I had left the camera in the house . Ed went inside to get it, and I watched the butterfly the entire time he was gone. The second I had the camera, the viceroy took off and flew out of sight. It makes me understand butterfly nets and killing jars. I would NEVER do that, but butterfly photography is a frustrating business. I didn't get a shot of the many monarchs that were flying around the garden today either.



This tall white snapdragon is still blooming beautifully. Of the annuals we planted this year , it has been one of the most satisfying. I'm sure it will continue to bloom until the cold really sets in here.

Another garden beauty that I missed today was a baby milk snake. Beautifully spotted and about the thickness of a pencil, he was sunning on the stone path at the base of the stone wall. The snake saw me when I saw it, and disappeared into the stone wall. I barely had time to turn the camera on. It was a fleeting encounter, but if he is settling in there, I'll look forward to seeing him again. If he gets really comfortable there, I might even get a picture.