Our Resident Osprey

  We found this Osprey nest on July 10th while out on a little road trip in Spring Lake.

We went back on July 17th to check the nest again and I took the following pictures.

There were two on this day, one kept watch on a telephone pole...

the second was in the nest, perhaps watching over babies!

We went to see the fireworks in Ocean Grove on Saturday night,

I was so exhausted, but as we were driving home I was so glad we went.

The fireworks were so beautiful!

2019 QuickChek Balloon Festival

This past weekend was the 

2019 QuickChek Balloon Festival

The event runs Friday, 1pm - 10 pm, and Saturday and Sunday 6 am - 10 pm.

The mass balloon ascensions are at 6:30 am and 6:30 pm.

We attended on Saturday morning...

up at 4 am for the 6:30 am ascension, we aren't crazy...

it is cooler in the morning and far less crowded.

Watching the mass inflation of the balloons is a real thrill!

I enjoy seeing the character balloons but the traditional tear drop balloons are still my favorite!

The festival not only features hot air balloons, 
but also includes music concerts at night.

A Five K Run on Sunday, 
lots of rides for children and a lot of vendors,

both food and hand crafted items.

All of the sponsors have booths set up, 
handing out free samples of their products.

Saturday Critters ~ 293 ~

Planting the right plants in your garden really helps to attract butterflies to your yard.

My gardens have come alive this summer with a really nice variety of butterflies.

The best plant to attract a variety of butterflies is the 

Coneflower

One of my favorite perennial plants, not only for it's color, but because it needs little care.

It re-blooms during the summer months and multiplies from season to season.

Other good plants to plant are 

Phlox, Lantana, Black-Eyed Susan's and Butterfly Bush

I have been seeing a lot of Painted Ladies this year, they seem to prefer the Butterfly Bush.
Here are a few pictures I took yesterday -

Their little faces are so interesting!



- The eye spots/circles on their wings have a blue tint to them -




My, my what big eyes you have!




I only got this one picture of the wings spread open.

This is the first time I have ever seen a Common Buck-Eye in the garden,
it preferred the Coneflowers.


This one had a slit in the wing, a little wear and tear from it's adventures!




The wings are so very delicate, I am surprised they don't have more damage to them.



I see a lot of Monarchs in my gardens, they have not been as easy to photograph lately.




I have seen only a few Eastern Tiger Swallowtails and have only taken just a few pictures.


This is a Small Skipper and although it looks like a moth, 
it is in the butterfly family because it does it's flying during the day time.
I find these on all of my plants and they are super abundant.
I guess I don't take as many pictures of these because they are not as beautiful.
Shame on me - they are very easy to photograph.

I sent out a memo to all the butterflies,
 "please land on a pretty flower, those that are not dying"!
Only some butterflies got the memo and clearly not the Buck-Eyes!

- Have you been seeing a lot of butterflies in your garden this year? -

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Eileen at Viewing Nature With Eileen