Tag Archives: giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)

Always fleeting

Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
— Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Sometimes they chase their shadows.

A velvet ant (Dasymutilla sp.) in flight (IMG_3659)

Sometimes their shadows chase them.

A giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) in flight (IMG_3537)

And sometimes their shadows hide beneath them, holding them up, providing the foundation upon which they travel.

A Virginia opossum (a.k.a. possum or tlacuache; Didelphis virginiana) trotting through a clearing (2009_04_19_016210)

Observing wildlife is one thing, but photographing it is another.  Because life is always fleeting.

A juvenile American robin (Turdus migratorius) in flight (2009_09_06_028805)

Sometimes together.

Rock doves (a.k.a. common pigeons; Columba livia) in flight (2008_12_07_000543_ab)

Sometimes alone.

A nutria (a.k.a. coypu; Myocaster coypus) swimming in calm water (2009_06_01_021672)

Sometimes in the city.

A cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) in flight (2009_05_17_019619)

Sometimes in the wild.

A diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer) swimming through a creek (2009_06_06_022472)

Sometimes up close.

A variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) in flight (IMG_3174)

Sometimes at a distance.

A Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri) in flight (2009_12_26_046986)

But always fleeting.

A white-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata) in flight (2009_07_18_026922)

Yes, life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

— — — — — — — — — —

Photos:

  1. Velvet ant (Dasymutilla sp.) flying over open ground in East Texas; this female will lose her wings and become a typical velvet ant as soon as she selects a good hunting-cum-nesting site
  2. Giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes); this is the largest butterfly in Canada and the United States
  3. Virginia opossum (a.k.a. possum or tlacuache; Didelphis virginiana); this is the only marsupial found north of Mexico
  4. Juvenile American robin (Turdus migratorius)
  5. Rock doves (a.k.a. common pigeons; Columba livia)
  6. Nutria (a.k.a. coypu; Myocaster coypus)
  7. Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) in breeding plumage
  8. Diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer)
  9. Variegated fritillary (Euptoieta claudia)
  10. Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri)
  11. White-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata)

Lake Tawakoni

Because I haven’t the wits about me at the moment to complete the spider series, and because I’m preparing to go to work, allow me to share some of my other experiences from Lake Tawakoni State Park.  Remember I journeyed there last Sunday as I endeavored to satiate my inner geek by visiting the super-spider web being built and maintained in North Texas.  But as I mentioned just after returning home from that trip, “I also have pictures from the lake that have nothing to do with spiders or webs. . .”  To grant me a reprieve from having to think too much, allow me to fill your eyes with some of the splendor that so capably filled my own.

A nature trail at Lake Tawakoni State Park (209_0939)

One of many nature trails

A giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) (209_0946)

A giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)
[I believe this is the largest butterfly in North America]

Sunrise over Lake Tawakoni (209_0951)

Sunrise over the lake

Standing on the peninsula where arachnids rule (210_1047)

Standing on the peninsula where arachnids rule

Another nature trail (210_1096)

Another nature trail

A hidden cove I discovered (210_1099)

A hidden cove I discovered

A spider web across the path (211_1104)

My reason for visiting was never forgotten

A view of the lake through trees and brush (211_1112)

A view of the lake through trees and brush

A nature trail leading through dark woods (211_1114)

Something magical is afoot

By the way, for those wondering how to pronounce the name of this lake, it’s tuh-WAH-koh-nee, and it’s Native American after the Caddoan tribe of the Wichita group that once called the area home.  It’s the Caddoans (or Kä’dohädä’cho) who occupied much of this area in the 18th and 19th centuries prior to settlement by pale-skinned immigrants.

You’ll be pleased to know the Caddo Indians will be honored in End of the Warm Season.  It’s through them that you will first come to know of the Still Watchers.  It’s my way of thanking them for their heritage, if not a wee bit of paying homage to those from whom we’ve taken far too much in both the past and present.

[all photos are shown in chronological order; this is only a sampling of images still available from this trip, so you can expect to see more from Lake Tawakoni in the future]