The Elusive Butterfly

It's been a while since I've been on a photo shoot, and yesterday morning I decided to venture out into the country with my camera to see what I could find. I've been wanting to capture some butterfly pictures and thought that country roads would be a good place to start.

After driving for a while without seeing anything of interest, I was getting discouraged and even considered doing a photo shoot of trash along the roadside. I saw old refrigerators, a sofa, a TV set, and some kind of unidentifiable appliance, the pieces of which were scattered all across the road. It was depressing, to say the least, and I was about ready to head for home when I saw this little fellow sitting beside the road (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like) ...

I thought, hmmmmm ... a turtle is better than litter any day, and turned around and went back to get a closer look at him. By the time I got back to where he was, he had crawled off the road into some grass and just sat there looking at me.

A face only his mama could love ...

After my exciting visit with Mr. Turtle, I stopped to peek through a fencerow and discovered these round bales of freshly cut hay ...

If you follow my blog, you know that I can't resist capturing cows with my camera, and here are a couple that were close to the road ...

Have you ever seen a frowning cow? This one, bless his or her heart, didn't look very happy to see me ...

My next stop was to get a closer look at some trumpet vines growing on a fence row. Isn't it beautiful!

And when I took this picture, I didn't realize I had captured some little creatures along with the flowers (if you click on the photo, you will see a little green bug looking back at you) ...

Here are a few more sights that caught my attention along my way, but still no butterflies!

A shaggy horse that desperately needed a haircut ...

I love this old steeple on the Edwards Presbyterian Church (circa 1869) ...

As I passed by this little guy, I got just a glimpse of him and backed up (the road was deserted, of course) and took this picture from my car. It's not very good, but when I went back to try to get closer, he was gone ...

By this time, I was enjoying my photo shoot, even though I hadn't seen the first butterfly. But that was okay, because I was finding plenty of lagniappe instead. Like this pretty stretch of road lined with old oak trees ...

And this cheerful little flower garden with its colorful array of zinnias and sunflowers ...

I thought to myself, "who needs butterflies when you can capture turtles, shaggy horses, frowning cows, little green bugs, beautiful old church steeples, shady country roads, and pretty little flower gardens."

But luck was with me when I pulled up to an intersection and saw this beautiful bed of lantana at a church ...

And I knew where there's lantana, there's got to be butterflies! And sure enough, I had found my elusive butterflies.

Most of them were black swallowtails, and these two were having a "romantic moment" in some shrubbery ...

I didn't want to intrude, so I followed this one around from flower to flower for about 15 minutes ...

I also captured a picture of this little creature and I'm not really sure what he is. If you can identify him, I would appreciate you letting me know.

He looks like a cross between a bumblebee and a moth, and I love his "gossamer wings." However, I gave him plenty of space because he looked like his sting might be lethal.

All things considered, my morning turned out to be interesting and I'm happy with the pictures I captured. I may go back another day and do one on the "roadside litter." I have a feeling it will be there for a long time, and that's a shame.

Outdoor Wednesday: The Doors of Vicksburg

I'd like to thank our gracious hostess Susan at A Southern Daydreamer, for taking the time to host our "Outdoor Wednesdays." Be sure to visit Susan today and see her stunning photos of her Rose of Sharon blooms.

I'm sure you're familiar with the saying, "You only have one chance to make a good first impression." I think that applies to houses, too, and the term "curb appeal," which is so widely used on HGTV, to describe the appearance of a house from the street, comes to mind.

One of the first things I notice about a house ... after the landscaping ... is its front door. And it doesn't have to have a big fancy ornate door to attract my attention. I love plain and simple doors, doors with windows, arched doors, double doors, tall skinny doors, stained wood doors, painted doors, doors with stained glass ...

Well, I guess you get the idea. I love doors ... and yesterday, with temperatures hovering near the 100-degree mark (which felt like 110 in the Mississippi shade), I set out with my camera to capture some of the doors in Vicksburg. I thought doors were something I could photograph by just "driving by," without having to get out in the heat, which, for the most part, worked fine.

Here are some of the doors that caught my eye (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like to see the details)...

This is one of my favorite doors in Vicksburg.
I love the ivy growing across the steps.

I love this pretty blue door, too, and that tiny window
with its little flowerbox. I took this picture last fall ...

I like the "lattice-effect" around this door, and the
contrast of the maroon door against the blue-green trim ...

Ernie and Oscar welcome little ones to
the Buttons and Bows Daycare Center ...

And this colorful shuttered door cheerfully
welcomes visitors to this house ...

Bold turquoise trim attracts your attention to this house, which is for sale. I hope they keep that second story door locked!

This is Lakemont, one of Vicksburg's many antebellum homes, circa 1830. If you enlarge the picture you can see the dent in the right front gate which was caused by a Union gunboat mortar.

I'm not sure about those grand Ionic columns flanking the rather simple front door. I wonder if they're original to the house?

I give this beautiful front door
an A+ for its first impression ...

And this door, which is on a house up the
street from ours, is another of my favorites ...

This is turning into a rather lengthy post, and for the sake of brevity, I'm going to let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves.

Southern Cultural Heritage Center

Christ Episcopal Church of Vicksburg

I would love to see what's behind this Green Door ...

Old Downtown Post Office

Constitution Fire Station, circa 1870

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church

Vicksburg City Hall

And last, but not least, here are our front doors ...

I hope you enjoyed the photo tour of some of my favorite doors in Vicksburg. They are just a small part of the gracious first impression Vicksburg gives its visitors every day.

Windows and Doors

I've been organizing my photos in my computer by creating slideshows of them, according to categories. This is my collection of photos featuring "Windows and Doors." I was surprised by how many I have.

Vicksburg National Military Park (Outdoor Wednesday)

I'd like to thank our gracious hostess Susan at A Southern Daydreamer, for taking the time to host our "Outdoor Wednesdays."

One of my favorite outdoor places in Vicksburg is the National Military Park, which commemorates the campaign, siege, and defense of Vicksburg during the War Between the States. Over 1,330 monuments, a restored Union gunboat, and National Cemetery mark the scenic 16-mile tour road which winds through the hills of Vicksburg.

I have created a slideshow using some of my photos I've captured during the past year and a half, and would like to share it today as my "Outdoor Wednesday" post. The music accompanying the slideshow is "A Call to Arms," which I think serves as a dramatic background for the photos.