Plain Jane

Duskywing Skippers are rather plain, in general, and many are difficult to distinguish from one another.  In fact, the only reason I am certain of my id on this one (a Horace's Duskywing) is that it is the only one that flies this late in the season in my area.  This is a small skipper (1.45 inches) in  a sub-family known as spread-wing skippers (Pyrginae).  He/she has been hanging around in the same butterfly bush all day, guzzling up the goodness.

It is another beautiful day here with temps in the 70's.  Hubs took the afternoon away from job searching and is working out in the garden spreading mulch.  Me?  Well, I did some garden clean-up and consolidated the remaining chrysalids and monarch caterpillar into one container, sterilizing the other.  Other miscellaneous caterpillar raising supplies have been cleaned and moved to the basement as I wind down this year's Monarch Project.  After that, I headed to the gym and got my second big cardio workout of the week in.  

No signs of any hummingbirds for the last two days, but two feeders remain up with fresh nectar... just in case.  Still a lot of warblers and neo-tropic migrants moving through.  And a pair of cardinals is still feeding two youngsters - the latest brood I ever recall seeing.  I watched the female feeding a fledgling last night before the sun disappeared - such a tender behavior to observe.  

Hard to believe that a year ago I was in the final countdown to that wonderful trip to Costa Rica.  My next trip to CR will be in May which seems like forever, but will probably be here before I know it.  Time is flying by...

Thank you, as always, for taking time to stop by.

xo
Debbi