Follow up on my sparrows....

Some of you may remember my post back in May about strange nesting places....

See those little dots on the wire? Those are English sparrows, also called house sparrows. The view is from my side yard in Hyannis and the funny oblong thing on the wire is a hollow wooden wire guide that used to protect the wire from rubbing against our big old sugar maple that met a sad and unfortunate end last year....

Early in the spring I saw the sparrows taking nesting material to the little wooden "house" and even then I wondered how it was going to work when it was time for the baby birds to fledge. The first group didn't do so well but some survived. The second group did much better and now we are on the third group...

There has been a lot of chatter and activity around the nest over the last few days and it seemed as if some of the siblings were still hanging around and in some ways were even cheering on their little brothers and sisters, cousins, or whatever they were to them. This morning was the first time the little ones came all the way out. You can see them to the left, looking a bit nervous perhaps....one is also on the top of the nesting area.

These little guys are still being fed by the parents and even some of the siblings it appears. I know that house sparrows are aggressive and invasive birds but I have to hand it to them for this one. Surviving and thriving in such an odd spot has earned a bit of admiration from me this summer. These are hardy, adaptable birds!

Some of my column illustrations...

are now on cards in my Mary Richmond Design Etsy shop.

this hummingbird moth is one of my favorites...

but I also like this grasshopper....

I'm not really sure who I would send this card to but I bet we all know at least one person who would love it...

I have done a lot of drawings of hawks over the years...

in flight, hanging out...looking tough...

I also put together some nice sets for the fall...

If you'd like to see more, they are posted over at Mary Richmond Design on Etsy.com

Another day at the beach...

this time at Marconi Beach in Wellfleet....

It was one of those rainy, cloudy, sunny, repeat sorts of mornings...

Here are the newly built stairs heading down to the beach....

a view of the intense erosion this area suffered last winter and which took out the stairs that used to be there...

It was still early and the rain had just stopped but those little dots out there were surfers....

the clouds were amazing--so moody....

another beautiful morning at the beach....

Spadefoot toadlets!

Spadefoot toads spend most of their time underground and are rarely seen by the average person so getting a peek at these tadpoles and little toadlets is a real treat.

Early each spring the toads leave their underground spots to head toward vernal pools in the dunes like these at Sandy Neck in West Barnstable. They will even lay their eggs in what are barely big puddles, hoping that the water will hang around long enough for their young to survive.

The eggs are laid in water and can be found in gelatinous globs like the one seen below. The eggs are the little dark spots.

Ian Ives of Mass Audubon's Long Pasture Sanctuary is involved in a program that is headstarting some of these rare and endangered toads to hopefully give them a better chance of overall survival here on the Cape. To do this he has raised some tadpoles that are now healthy and happy toadlets, and yes, that is a word. Our larger frogs grow quite a bit bigger before metamophosizing into adult frogs but our toads, including American, Fowler's and Spadefoot, all leave the water while still quite small, and are called toadlets. Wood frogs, which are dependent on vernal pools also change quickly from tadpole to frog and are called froglets. That's your handy tidbit of amphibian trivia for the day.

These tadpoles are about an inch long. If you look closely at the top one you will see it's tiny back legs beginning to form.

These little guys have arms and legs but still have quite a bit of tail to be absorbed before they are ready to hop out of the water.

Here is a little spadefoot toadlet that has just been out of the water for a few weeks. It is living in an aquarium for the moment and is being fed lots of tiny insects.

This picture isn't great but it does show the little holes the toadlets dig and you can see one of the toads emerging in the top center part of the photo.

Most people would never see these tiny guys so personally I think it is pretty cool that we can see them like this, thanks to Mass Audubon and Ian Ives.

Something to cool you off....

Nothing like some lovely summer flowers to help you find a smile and a breeze on a hot July day....

This balloon flower is simply begging for a butterfly or bee to come visit, don't you think?

My bee balm is suffering in the heat but the bees and hummingbirds still love it....

Chicory is also commonly called cornflower and is one of my favorite plants of mid summer....

It seems so fragile and delicate but it grows in some pretty tough places. Yep, that's concrete you see beneath this plant. It is growing between a sidewalk and the road and in my town you see them everywhere right now. They especially cheer me up when they are waving at me while I wait for a traffic light at a busy intersection.

And of course, who doesn't love Queen Anne's lace? It also grows just about anywhere and quite frankly I think it would like to take over my yard. I do leave some of it here and there and this flower head is one of the largest I've ever seen--about 5" across!

Although day lilies have certainly naturalized everywhere they are a cultivated, not a wild plant in our area but I was playing with my camera in the garden this morning and liked the way you could see the pollen on this so thought I'd include it.

Stay cool, everyone. And stop to smell the flowers!

And more beautiful butterflies....

since it really is such a perfect week for them....many do not stay still long enough for me to photograph them so later I will add some of my sketches and watercolors to show you other common butterflies in the area but here are some more seen here on the Cape in the last week or so....

I believe this one is one of our more common skippers--note the way it holds its wings, which is one of the indicators that it belongs in the skipper family of butterflies. If my identification is correct this is a silver spotted skipper. I have sent the photo to one of my more expert naturalist friends so I will correct this if necessary...

This one is a checkerspot--easy to remember ;-)

and everyone should be familiar with this one--the eastern tiger swallowtail.

Such a beautiful time of year!

A Bit of Yellow...

is a cheerful thing on a sunny morning...or any time!

This beautiful butterfly is known as the clouded sulphur and is one of our more common butterflies. You may see them in many of the same places you see their white sulphur cousins, commonly called cabbage whites.

When their wings are open, they have grayish black borders down the side of their wings....

Clouded sulphurs are smaller than the Monarch butterflies most people know. Their wing span may reach 2" but mostly they are petite and compact. You can find them just about anywhere there is a good mix of flowers, including your own yard but they are especially plentiful right now in open field areas.

You can read more here about the life history, habits and habitat needs of the clouded sulphur

More Butterflies....

Butterflies can be challenging to draw or paint outside but even photographing them can be difficult. Most of us that try take lots and lots of pictures....

Monarchs tend to hang around in the same place and stand still for a while so they can feed....

Sometimes their pose is not exactly cooperative but I included this one above so you could see that often they are more camouflaged in a garden than you might expect....

Sometimes they are so busy feeding that you can really zoom in close....

While other times they move on...

In any case, they are so lovely that standing out in a field of flowers on a sunny morning is nothing less than delightful....

You can find more information about Monarch butterflies at this Monarch Butterfly website.

These photos were taken by me this past weekend at Mass Audubon's Long Pasture Sanctuary.

It's Butterfly Time!

Butterflies love it to be hot but not too hot. A little breeze is okay but too  much wind will toss them around so a calm day is always their preference. Humidity is acceptable up to a point but a good dry day in the 80s is probably their favorite kind of day. Oh, and don't forget that lots of flowers should be in bloom. Mid July is usually the best time to find that around here and sure enough, these past few days have been perfect.

If you want to see lots of butterflies head for a place that looks like this....

With lots of these....

and these....

and mixes like these....

then you might find some of these....

These pictures were taken on the Butterfly Mosaic Trail at Mass Audubon's Long Pasture Sanctuary in Cummaquid but any good sized field will do. In the Falmouth area there is the amazing Crane Wildlife Area that I personally think is the best butterfly place on the Cape but there is also the air field in Marstons Mills, the Drummer Boy Park in Brewster, Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and Fort Hill in Eastham to name a few more. Truro has some very fertile areas as well. All should be very busy over the next week or so with many varieties of butterflies.

Over the next few days I will be posting pictures and information about some of the more common butterflies here on the Cape, including their host plants for both nectaring adults and feeding larvae.

I love chipmunks....

I know, I know, some of you just hate them and have ongoing wars with them but I can't help it, I love them.

First of all, they're just too cute for words. I know that's not very scientific of me but what the heck, they are totally cute.

They are so small they make every predator's favorite food list yet they are quick, agile and sassy. I have seen them talk back to animals twice their size before making a hasty retreat. They don't always escape of course but they do more often than their size may lead you to believe. I love an animal with spunk that isn't arrogant. Let's face it, weasels are little and have lots of spunk but they are also sneaky and arrogant and hard to love with all that bloodthirsty killing they do...I mean, really, not the same at all. And yes, I am anthropomorphizing here but I hope you'll forgive me.

Besides, how could you not love that sweet little alert face?

If you want to know more about chipmunks check out this Wonder Club Website.

These summer days....

are so wonderful! We've been very lucky to finally be able to get out and paint these last two weeks and the classes have been great. I think sketching and painting outdoors attracts only the very best people because everyone is always so friendly and generous...always a good time.

First, there are the views....this one is in Wellfleet, from the tiny beach in front of the Wellfleet pier...

We set up our chairs and our easels...

and got to work....

and yes, it is work....with a little relaxing thrown in for good measure....

This student is trying out her new easel--found at a yard sale or thrift shop I believe and barely used!

Here you can see her set up a little better....and a bit of her unfinished watercolor.

Such a great way to spend the day....join us if you feel like it....full schedule is at Cape Cod Art and Nature Website