Happy Fourth!  This morning I discovered a black swallowtail had emerged from her chrysalis on my dill plant.  I named her Firecracker.  She is with all her family and friends on the mimosa tree now.  I learned something about butterflies today.  I always thought that the papilio polyxenes built their little transformation house but it turns out the caterpillar sheds it’s skin and turns into a chrysalis from which the butterfly emerges.

I named this butterfly Firecracker because of her colors.  Those colors and markings remind me of the pretty and intense colors of those streaming fireworks that fall from the sky on the fourth of July.

These are from my visit to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens the first week of November on their free day.  It was packed as this was the last week of the Chihuly installation.  I love what happens to the blooms in the autumn.  The seed pods are at their glory and there are still some beautiful flowers in bloom and vibrant berries.

Nashville says goodbye to the Chihuly exhibit at Cheekwood today.   What a lovely addition to Nashville and Cheekwood’s history!  How in the world will Cheekwood ever top this or at least something on the same level at the Chihuly exhibit.  It seemed like only yesterday that the announcement was made that the stunning glass sculptures would grace the grounds of Cheekwood and now sadly it has come to a close.   It was reported that 8000 people passed through the gates on the free day on October 20th.   And in the last few weeks the lines to get onto the ground for night time viewing were a mile or two long.   These photos are from my night visit and from the free day.  I also visited in June during the day.  See my post here.

the "Sun" at night on the front lawn of the mansion

"Mille Fiori" in the reflection pool behind the mansion

Installation inside the Frist Learning Center

"Cattails" by Chihuly

Red glass reeds mingle with the bamboo.

"The Boat" proved to be very popular.

"Walla Wallas"

Floats in the Japanese garden.

"Blue Marlins"

Another view of "Mille Fiori" in the reflecting pool at dusk.

More from the reflecting pool.

Glass reeds in the reflecting pool and "Persians and Blue Reeds" at the Frist Learning Center.

Reflecting pool, "Mille Fiori"

"Saffron Tower" in the afternoon light.

"Saffron Tower" detail.

"Blue Polyvitro Crystals" in the Howe Wildflower Garden Pond

"Erbium Fiori" at the herb garden.

"Silvered Purple Herons" detail at the herb garden.

the herb garden

Onion reflection, "Walla Wallas" at the Robinson Family Water Garden.

An orange onion in the "Walla Wallas".

New images from the Angel Trumpet Tree.  Yellow landscapes. Yellow sculptural beauty.

And some abstracts using yellow from the petals…

And a little sea shell inspired

Did you know that the Spider Lily is not a member of the Lily family?  It is actually a member of the Amaryllidaceae family, also known as the Amaryllis family.  The Spider Lily is more directly related to Daffodils than Lilies.   This lovely plant resides in my neighbor’s yard.  I have been watching it for a few weeks and the other morning the light was just right to get up close and personal with this lovely.

A collective set of photos taken the past week or so…

The pretty purple morning glories somewhere on ninth street in Old Hickory and a garden spider, Argiope aurantia, also called the writing spider or banana spider just outside the Mayo's. I call him Fred. Isn't he beautiful against the blue sky in the morning light?

Morning glory black and white study.

The royal, majestic and abundant purple morning glory.

Love the color of these. Hydrangea are beautiful in this state.

So many spider webs around. This one had a feather. This morning when I went out on my deck, just before dawn, I counted about 25 spiders doing their thing!

Along the brown/orange and green palette, we have Slim Jim in the grass in the early morning light.

Stray Dude in his best Buddah pose.

Tunnel Spider web. I have never seen a tunnel spider, that I know of, but I can only imagine that if I put my hand near the "tunnel" I would probably never see it again!

A holly hock leaf used as a canvas for some critter to create art!

Related to the Morning Glory, this beauty blooms when the moon comes out and stays open until the sun is too bright.  Each blossom opens only once to a spectacular star shaped, soft, white, pillowy flower.  In the beginning it starts as a sculptural bud with the look of the staircase at the Vatican Museum.  Once it blooms it falls upon itself turning brown and falling off the stem with stamen still in tact.   If you are lucky you will see the Sphinx Moth, aka the Hummingbird Moth, pollinating this sweet smelling, gorgeous vine.  One night at dusk I saw at least twenty of these workers making magic.  Sadly, I was without camera and when I went back the next night only one showed up briefly.  I will not give up!

How can you not be happy when seeing these sweet little flowers appear, sometimes in pairs?  I acquired this little black eyed susan vine  at the beginning of the summer and it did not fair well due to all the heat.  Now, it is a lovely display of yellow blooms with dark brown centers, an elegant vine that spreads itself a little each day and a safe haven for some little bugs and spiders.

Here he is.  I have seen guys like this before just not with these pretty little amber spots.  I had this pepper plant that was not doing well since the beginning of the season.  Much like most of my plants, due to the crazy heat and all the rain, it was just too much for them.  This little plant started to make a comeback when it cooled down to 90 from the 100s.  A little pepper was growing and lots of blossoms were praising the sun!   And then in just a day I look at the plant and all I see are little branches and the little pepper in the dirt.  I was getting ready to pull it out of the pot and take to the plant graveyard in the groundhog’s habitat when I noticed the culprit.   Despite his crime I still think he is beautiful.   I really thought that he was another horn worm but last night while I was researching a moth that liked moonflowers I discovered that this is a tobacco hornworm.  Tonight I am going to attempt to photograph the moth party in Eric and Jeanne’s side yard where the moon flowers shine in all their glory.

Has anyone else noticed the abundance of butterflies, dragonflies and moths this year?

Share your stories or nightmares about big green monsters in the comments section!