Butterflies in the Yarden and .....

Yesterday I posted how I moved my garden arch and what went on.  Today was more relaxing as I wanted it that way for a change.  The Blue Tigers were still crossing the Yarden today.  Fiddlewood tree is in bloom now, as if to invite the grand flying guests.  They were relishing the nectar from the tiny flowers, high up as the tree has grown tall. 

On the right is the Great Eggfly, also enjoying nectar.

It is not often that I get to see two so close, normally, with the other butterflies.  Since they were in great numbers, I could get two in one frame. They were about 15 feet up, taken with 12x zoom.

On the wall beside the pond, I saw one.  It was a Common Jay. 

It was there for an hour.  I could get almost as close as two inches to get a macro shot and say hello to it.

The Common Emigrant that eluded me yesterday, was caught today, again on the Fiddlewood flowers, 10 feet up.  

Can you see the Common Jezebel here?  I have found this very difficult to photograph as it keeps flying and rarely comes low.  They too are fond of those Fiddlewood flowers.  

It was a working day but I was off today.  In the post lunch, post siesta Yarden Session, I decided to prune some new growth of Almond Tree leaves.  See how large the leaves can become!

Actually, these leaves can be used as food plates - disposable and hygienic. I have done this a few times too, during water crisis. The small branches that I had cut were put outside the gate.  After some while I saw a man take the entire lot - to feed his goat/sheep/cow.  They love the leaves, this time the leaves are fresh and nice. See the bundle in the background - the man is carrying it on his head, both the man and his head not visible.

Last evening, I had taken these two shots.  From a distance, I could guess that they were Munias. 

See Munia at the bottom of the frame.

This evening, a couple of them, actually 'Spotted Munia' flew in to have a drink in the water trough. I used 12x zoom and used flash as light was low.  It was too far for flash, about 20 feet away and was wary of my presence.  So I could not move much. 

I had put the Texas Star Hibiscus plant [growing from seed sent by Dee, USA] into a small pot. It seems to be doing okay, so far.

Bumper crop of Cherry Tomatoes. 

In the background, see how wild the 4 Cherry Tomato plants have grown. 

Zinnias and Gaillardias doing nicely.  I dead headed the Gaillardias yesterday and also collected seeds of Pink Star Morning Glory - there has been profuse seeding. 

It was time when the cows were returning home.  I too did the same. 

A rare aeroplane, not the same I showed yesterday, had started my day, early in the morning. It was cloudy and the plane disappeared quickly into it and my day too did so. .