Part II -- Brackettville Monarch Mosh

I had too many photos of clumping Monarchs and couldn't decide how to only show you one or two. It's so interesting the way they clump!

Below: I uploaded this Monarch clump photo in full size so, if you click it, the image will be HUGE but I wanted you to appreciate just how many Monarchs were in this tree. You can't see them all when the image is smaller. When I shot it I had no idea just how many Monarchs were up there. I was shocked when I was editing the photos tonight.

Below: They LOVED these dead leaves. They know, quite instinctively, just how well those dead leaves camouflage them. I'm not sure I'd have noticed them there if they weren't so skittish. These butterflies could see me coming from quite a distance. I hope I have a tele-converter lens by the next migration because I could be getting the most amazing Monarch shots if I had one!

All of the 10-11-08 Monarch Migration and Pinto Farm Pix can be seen HERE.

Part I -- Prelude to a Monarch

The Monarch Migration passes so quickly, I would have loved to have stayed home today to recover from yesterday, but they could be gone by tomorrow. They're only here a few days a year! But before I get to them, here's a few pix from the farm to start this trilogy off.

If you are in the mood to blow something up out of proportion, just click an image.

Below: We don't have the clouds of Monarchs this year that I've heard we've had in the past. Still, if you are in a shady spot near a creek and look up into the sky, you'll see the silhouettes of Monarchs flitting through the air.

Below: This was the only angle I could shoot the fungus from. The tree was growing on a steep slope and I couldn't walk down it--too slippery with dried leaves. Yes, dried leaves can be very slippery.

Below: I found some turkey feathers on Oak Road (my favorite spot on Pinto Farm) and remembered I could use the macro setting on something besides butterflies. Yes, I've been forgetting since the recent butterfly invasion.

Below: I detest spiders. They make my skin crawl. So I pretend that spiderwebs occur spontaneously in nature when I attempt to shoot them so I don't get too freaked out when something brushes my arm or falls in my hair.

All of the 10-11-08 Monarch Migration and Pinto Farm Pix can be seen HERE.

Battus Philenor and the Texas Horned Lizard in Bracketttville

The Battus Philenor is commonly known as the Pipvine Swallowtail. I know I didn't need to publish quite so many photos of this swallowtail, but you have no idea how excited I was to see a metallic sheened butterfly! I've never seen one that was alive before.

That yellow and black zebra butterfly thing teased me again today, such a cruel little butterfly not staying put long enough for me to get my camera up!

Below: Yet another example that Spring is in the air, despite the fact that it's Fall.

Below: While we were out at the farm today, my Aunt Sherry spotted this Texas Horned Lizard. I think I took about a dozen snaps of it but I never could get enough light on the lower part of his face. Should have used the flash I guess. Despite appearances, I was holding him quite gently. And we released him annoyed but unharmed.

Utopia right here in Texas

All images enlarge with a click.

Last night I got to go see the Utopia Sunset Bat Flight.

It was last night that Dolly was due to hit us. She didn't so much hit as as wave howdy as she skirted our entire area. Ah, well, even a tiny bit of rain is better than no rain at all. And she certainly cooled things off.

The Bat Site signage was outstanding, don'tcha think? We weren't even sure if the bat flight would happen. The gate stays locked if there's rain or mud and rain seemed extremely likely. Bats won't fly if it's raining and if there's flooding or mud, it's hard to get to the bat cave. As it was, the remnants of Dolly were threatening enough that the bats didn't perform the most remarkable exodus in the history of bat flights--but I was happy. It was beautiful in Utopia and the sound of the bats alone alone was worth it--all those tiny wings and rushing air!

Despite their low-tech sign, the Utopia Bat Cave website actually has some Interesting Batography and it's worth looking at if you are into spelunking and/or bats, which I am.

This was pretty much my first view of the bat flight as we drove up to the bat cave last night. It may have been a relatively small flight (that we could see before it got too dark) but it was still beautiful. On a good night, 10 or 12 million bats come flying out of this cave--bat flights can be so thick that they show up on doppler radar. According to the website, Utopia Sunset Bat Flight boasts the second largest bat population in the world but the 1st largest that's open to the public.

I've seen bat flights before, but I don't remember seeing them quite this way. I'm usually either driving and catching a flight (from the corner of my eye) as it comes from under a bridge somewhere near Austin, Tx or I'm right smack at the cave entrance where I can't appreciate the "bat stream" as it comes out of the cave.

I got a lot of shots of these beige streaks zooming around the entrance of the cave. They seem to circle endlessly as they exit, like a bat tornado rising up out of the ground. S'awesome.

The bat flight doesn't begin until nearly dusk so it was a bit too dark for landscape shots. I was bummed because the landscape was remarkable. I see on their website that they have a nature center "coming soon." I hope it includes access to some of their hilltops so I can go out and shoot the Rio Frio and the surrounding hills to my heart's content! My very good and precious friend, Jean Levert Hood, has spent a lot of hours soaking up inspiration for her artwork on the Rio Frio. I'll have to pick her brain about who will let me roam their Rio Frio property and shoot.

I was trying to shoot the landscape as much as I was trying to shoot the "Dolly Clouds" as they came rolling over the area. It's a shame I'd already lost the light.

Click To See Umpteen Billion Pix from the Sunset Bat Flight Tour.

Blackbrush and Huisache on Tularosa Road

The orange is the huisache and the yellow is the blackbrush. I love when these two shrubs bloom, they are very fragrant. To me, they smell sweet. It was a nice, overcast day--my favorite kind of day to shoot so out I went to 277 south of town hoping to walk along Pinto or Val Verde creek (or whatever it's called) but, alas, they were fenced off and I couldn't. I've GOT to find out who own properties along creeks here and get permission to shoot out on their ranches! I turned back towards town and went north instead feeling confident that there would at least be something blooming on Tularosa.

A few more are here.

Monarch Migration

I went out again around 11 and the Monarchs were not to be seen. I'm sure they'll be back around 4 or so. I'll go out again then. I managed to get the goats to hold still for me for a bit. Pinto Farm, where these were shot, isn't really a farm anymore. Hubby has some African Boer Goats on the property, they're pretty funny beasties. The pics aren't great but I thought you might like to see some real, live Texas goats on a real, live Texas ranch.

Good Morning! There are Monarchs in Brackettville today!

I was out there at about 7:15. As it turns out, Monarchs don't get up until about 8:30. Still, I'm glad I was out there! I'm going back out in just a few minutes. But here's a peek at my first shots of the day!

See more of the migration as we're experiencing it here: Monarch Migration -- Brackettville -- 2007

Kersplat! My intent was to shoot the butterflies in Brackettville, not flatten them.

I thought this might be a bad omen. I was on my way out to the farm to scout for Monarchs and SPLAT! Thankfully, it wasn't a Monarch. It was miserably hot out today. I suppose it could have been worse, but the humidity was so high... my corneas were fogging up.

This is the Blue Hole on the farm, the spot I've been heading to first all week to look for Monarchs. I didn't see any for quite awhile and was about to give up and go to the picnic area when suddenly the Monarchs started swooping in!





The Monarchs were fairly thick at the picnic area, but as many as there were--it was nothing compared to what it should be like tomorrow. They were very skittish today. Usually they don't pay you much mind when they're here en masse. I guess there's safety in numbers. Tomorrow should be AMAZING!

The rest of today's shoot: Monarch Migration -- Brackettville -- 2007

Heidi Grokking Brackettville Sheep

It's not often things are so green and lush in our neck of the woods. But it's been unusually wet this year and for that we grateful. This is Heidi, my sister in law, grokking Robert's sheep. She and my bro, Jeff, aren't normally much for outside. Nor are they fans of mud, dirt, stink, and the droppings of various farm animals. But I snagged a baby goat, how I wish I had pictures, and thrust it into her arms. She was instantly in love and although it was a filthy, dung covered thing it simply didn't matter. She was transformed into a nature Goddess with that little baby in her arms.