I believe this is a Buckeye Butterfly. Interesting markings.

Just really liked the colors of this plant. Could be a tree or a bush, I don't know what it is. It has large, 3 to 4 inch, spike-like thorns on trunk that would run fully through your wrist if you fell on it. I believe now that this is what's known as a Honey Locust tree.

In Jurassic Park, the local wildlife always has its eye on you. In this case, it is the butterfly population that needs to be cautious. The mantids lie in wait in the tops of ironweed plants for unsuspecting butterflies.

An almost futuristic appearance...

...especially in the head area!

I dreamt I saw an eagle fall,

And when he landed, heard him call,

“Weep not for me, for I’m a flyer,

My dreaming calls me ever higher.”

I laid him down on grass so soft,

This brave young seeker from aloft.

Looking upwards to the the sky,

I held him gently, asking, “Why?”

I thought it safer, close to ground?

Than soaring high, where clouds abound,

Might not the lightning strike your wings?

I wonder why you do these things?

He slowly turned to me and said,

“You’ve never walked on ground untread?"

For this my friend, has been my task,

And now I’ll answer what you ask.

When first I flew some years ago,

My father took me up to show

A place where eagles never lifted,

A place where clouds had never drifted.

And as we flew, my feathers grasping

Air so thin my breath was rasping,

I stared above, with humbled feeling,

And gazed with awe on heaven’s ceiling.

Is this as high as we’re to go?

We mortal creatures from below.

Just then he called me, as we parted,

“It’s higher now, than when I started.”

And then I knew as not before,

The highest place that eagles soar.

And star-surrounded, I did say

A prayer for those who showed the way.

I know not why my wings have failed,

And thinking downward as I sailed,

In all the years that I’ve been flying,

The best of all was in the trying.

So leave me here among the clover,

For in the quest my part is over.

Fear not, my friend, for dreams endure,

For eagles coming, of this I’m sure.

by Patrick J. Phillips

I Dream Of Eagles

(Written in honor of STS-51 & the shuttle Challenger)

A passion flower, most likely of the Passiflora Incarnata variety.

After flying right past me and nearly taking my head off, this owl perched on a nearby tree. I immediately started shooting photos of him/her and slowly walking closer to get a better shot. Though the owl looked around as if nervous, it stayed there as I inched closer and closer. Eventually, I was almost directly below it and it was about 10 feet above my head. It finally looked directly at me and I got this shot. Just after I took this, the owl turned around and shot a load of "owl juice" my way. It was as if it had been expecting me to continue sneaking up on it and it had planned to "bomb" me. A few moments later it flew away.

The exact location where this owl was photographed can be seen by the waypoint marker on the map below.

View larger map.

I think God put in a little bit of overtime on this guy. Like flying stained glass...

There can be no denying that these guys are really alien scout ships. Note the metal construction of the body (fuselage) and "head" (cockpit). Note too the serrated jaws. Though not visible in this shot, the underside of this bug (craft) reveals a complex hydraulics package for driving the mechanized wings. The two dark orb-like windows at the front give nearly 360 degrees of vision to the pilots.

A color version of the same tree you see below. Note the dark, shiny tubular "thing" on the right side, about 2/3 up from the bottom of the photo. I don't even want to think about what that is but I'm sure it slithers out of there from time to time and heaven help you if you happen to be there when it does...

This tree is located here...

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Behind every tree there's a new monster.
~Todd Rundgren

You lookin' at me? No, those are not pupils in the eyes of this praying mantis who was watching me walk by, but they sure made me fee creepy when I looked up at it. This carnivore is pretty much a killing machine that I, for one, am grateful does not exist in a size much larger than seen here. This one was too high for me to get a real good look at but I'd say it was about five inches in length. I could almost imagine servo motors whirring as it moved its head from side to side.

Performed in memory of her deceased mother, Rhema Marvanne sings Amazing Grace.