Abundance

I came to the oasis this morning and enjoyed an abundance of everything (except birds). Water, odonates, butterflies, and flowers. The best bird of the day was this Western Scrub-Jay. I hope it beats the bears to the acorns. The trees will be better off if bears don't ravage them like they did last year.

Had no trouble locating and getting better photos of yesterday's lifer, the Cardinal Meadowhawk. Kelly had generously shared his with me in case I couldn't relocate it, and since his are better, I'll just post one of his.

photo courtesy Kelly Bryan

As there are so many butterflies around, I was determined to find a species that I hadn't photographed before, but was unsuccessful. The longer my list is, the harder it is to get a new one. Here's a pair of mating Bordered Patches. 

And a Chinati Checkerspot. That's about it. Will try harder tomorrow.