Twenty Swans A-Swimming

I had to look up the collective noun for a group of swans. It's called a bevy. Isn't that just perfect? 

We definitely had a bevy of beauties out in front of my sister's house a couple days ago. We counted twenty in the group. 

They had found something particularly good to eat in the shallows and spent a long time bobbing and milling about before swimming north together. 

A few of them got ruffled feathers from time to time, but there weren't any major kerfuffles. 

One paddled along with its mate holding a foot out of the water. It must have been a restful pose, even though it looked like someone had misread the swan assembly instructions. 

 

And speaking of looking a little silly, there quite a few less graceful moments as they filled their gullets with whatever they were finding for snacks. 

 Obviously, it was a lot of fun to watch the activity. I must have taken a hundred pictures, at least, but I'm not cruel. I only subject you to a few that seemed interesting and maybe a little humorous. :) 

A Mysterious Apology!

I apologize for the delay in posting the solution to the mystery turtles. For some reason, Google (in it's infinitely dubious wisdom) changed a number of blog settings without notifying me. I was having trouble posting and all the responses from mystery lovers fell into a black hole. I think I have everything reset and working properly again. 

So, I'm also sorry I didn't respond to any of your mysterious puzzle answers - I wondered why nobody had said anything. (Thank you, BetsyLee, for notifying me of response difficulties via AQ mail. It put me on the right track to solving all the various issues -- I hope.)

Without further ado, here's the original picture: 

There are two fairly obvious turtles, but at least two others peeking out of the water.  There's also a possible fifth about a third down from the top on the left. 

 I've marked the ones I saw on this second picture. So, who did I miss? :)

 

A Tiny Turtle Teaser

Just in case it's time for another little mystery. Here's a teaser. I'll post the answer tomorrow, but this is one where I might be wrong.  You may do better than I did. :)

How many turtles can you find? I thought there were two to begin with and then... 

Considering the Flowers...

Sometimes, you just have to stop and smell the roses...

And admire the colors,

And the beauty of petals unfurling. 

Then there's the smile-inducing oxeye daisy, 

Along with its cousins that were blooming in great profusion. 

The purple coneflowers were in full display mode beside my sister's stairway,  

And a marsh mallow voluntarily adorned the boat launch where Piper likes to get a drink or take a dip for a break to cool off on our walks. 

Yarrow blossomed along the trail, 

And St. John's Wort spread a little sunshine through the fields where Piper likes to romp.

The flowers of the field are, indeed, something marvelous to consider. 

Little Things with Wings

Bees, butterflies, dragonflies and other little winged wonders can be real day brighteners. 

I don't know what kind of pollinator is on the black-eyed Susan above, but it was an earnest little fuzz buzzer that caught my eye.  

I've been cheering for mosquito-eating dragonflies since I was a small child. They not only have the most delicate and intricate wings, they're the most amazing aerial acrobats. They hover, fly backward, forward, dart, dive and actually eat their prey while hanging in the air. 

I love the way sunlight makes the wings glitter and the veins are like stained glass leading around the colorful panes of transparent wing. 

Piper and I saw this newly emerged monarch butterfly as we were finishing up an afternoon walk. It was so vibrant in its new colors and completely undamaged by any encounters with the world. I'm sure it will be well traveled by the time it finishes its migration flight, but no less majestic for that. 

We took a Jeep ride (old 1966 vintage), complete with windshield down and no doors, of course, on the family property to celebrate my brother's birthday. We stopped to admire some giant swallowtail butterflies in the thistle patch. 

They hardly ever stop fluttering and it's really hard to get a good picture.  I did manage to get a couple clear shots out of the dozens I took - most were blurry to one degree or another. The patterns on these butterflies are beautiful. The tiny teardrops on the ends of the tails and the colorful orange and blue markings at the base of its abdomen are striking details in an already intricate series of wing markings.