Purple Coneflowers this morning

It was still early, so the shadows are more than I like in the photos.
But notice the difference in the flowers.
The top photo is a typical coneflower bloom.
The next one is more flat than Coneflowers usually appear.

The 3rd one is my favorite. I love how the petals are straight down.

As you can the roofers didn't kill all my plants close to the front of the house.

Hope everybody has a wonderful weekend. Happy Birthday to my friend Jan.

Coneflowers and a skipper

This photograph (taken in June) makes me realize how few Skippers I have seen this year. I usually have lots of different skippers. Other than the Silver Spotted Skippers I think this is the one skipper I have seen. Very unusual around my zinnias.

Love the dew on this one.
Or maybe from the looks of this, it was rain instead of dew.

You know me, I just have to get closer and closer.

And I do have a few white Coneflowers.

Working on my card order, which makes me go through photos and decided to take a pause and post these.

UT Gardens

I visited the gardens at University of Tennessee the last day of June. The gardens are part of the agriculture department, but open to the public.
Their coneflowers are prettier than mine.
The above photograph I have already put in one of my greeting cards.
My coneflowers have not done very well this year.

Beautiful dark hollyhock, I just could not get at the right angle with the sun.

But I think my favorite part was the sedum garden.

The sedum garden was built on a table top.

They also had one on the park bench, but the light angle at it was terrible,
so I am not even showing it.

I am sure the gardens are pretty anytime of year.

I need to remember to go in the spring next year.

Various Skippers on various flowers

These were also taken earlier in the year, had this post ready for quite awhile. Pushed for time, so am posting them now. Notice these were prepared before my new computer blues.

Common Buckeye Butterfly

I think the Common Buckeye is beautiful. When we visited the Grand Canyon last year I had seen my first Buckeye the week before leaving on the trip, somebody there made reference to how can people not believe there is a God. I said how can you look at a Common Buckeye and not believe there is a God. Look at those circles outlined with another circle. Another sign of God, it doesn't take the Grand Canyon, just the smallest of small in our own yards.

Common Sulphur

As I have said before sulphurs are real hard to distingush, but I think this one is a Common Sulphur.

Orange Sulphur

Sulphurs are real hard to distinguish. I am fairly certain both of these are Orange Sulphur. These were not taken on the same day, so probably not even the same sulphur.

Coneflower

Next I had to look from the top.

Then today I was lucky enough to catch the bee on the coneflower, but the light on the flower was better yesterday (top photo).