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I spent a couple hours for the past three afternoon taking butterfly picture. While  have many that are very pretty, this one was pure good timing!

I took this photo at Colonia Park in Franklin Park, NJ on September 1st. I just happened to focus and hit the shutter just as the butterfly took off.  This is one of my favorites from the season, and I plan on posting more.  I’m also thinking about putting together a 2013 calendar of butterfly pictures.  If I can find something reasonable, I may try to offer it through my website.  We’ll see.

There is something about photographing butterflies that I find incredibly soothing. At times it’s a waiting game, or disappointing when none are around, but year after year I find myself looking forward to it.  I was so glad when I spotted this guy yesterday. He’s a colorful beauty.

Finally, the butterflies are flying! I took these pictures this past Friday.

The first butterfly and the first flower I photographed in NJ this season. Hopefully it’s the start of many more to come.

My self-imposed goal of painting Budz on a regular basis was completed.  It’s primarily watercolor paints.

About two weeks ago, I visited Rutgers Gardens in New Jersey in search of butterflies to photograph.   I was pleasantly surprised to find monarch butterflies still around.  I went one day and returned the following, while the weather was still lovely.  In the process of  taking the photographs — wading through various weeds and who knows what — I was bitten by some bugs and probably also went into something that gave caused my skin to get an allergic reaction. I’ve been to a dermatologist twice since then, and the skin on my arms, legs, and back are still broken out in a itchy mess of a rash despite the topical medications and anti-histamines.  I’ve had poison ivy in the past, and each time after starting medication I started to clear up.  This, however, is not budging.  Ugh!

On a good note, I like some of the photos.  Were they worth this annoying, itchy rash?  Right now, the jury is still out on that one. I am partial to the desaturated versions of some of the photos.  While I certainly like vivid color, I find myself more attracted to the dreamy quality I see when the color is pushed back.

This is my favorite.

Generally by this time in the year,  I have at least a couple hundred butterfly photos.  But, not this year.  I was shocked to see that one of my favorite places to find butterflies is now dug up for a warehouse being built on the property.  It bought to mind “paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”  My second favorite place didn’t have many butterflies this year.  It is disappointing, but at least one day I managed to get a few pictures.  I fear with Hurricane Irene coming this weekend, there may not be any butterflies left to photograph next week. We’ll see!

I was only able to get a few pictures this evening.  The two I saw flew to an area that I couldn’t climb to.  I was tired anyway and so was happy that this handful was in focus.  I find the black swallowtails particular difficult to photograph as their wings tend to flutter very quickly.

Soon I’m going to be posting some books that will be given away.  Watch for it.

Yesterday I managed to get out for a short while to one of my favorite nearby parks in search of butterflies to photograph.

In only minutes I spotted a swallowtail, and Immediately I photographed it.

After taking just a few photos, it flew off.  I waited around as swallowtails tend to return to the same general area several times before taking off entirely.  But it did not return. As I looked at the butterfly bush, I saw something fuzzy.

When I got closer, I realized it was a frightened looking baby bird!

After taking a couple photos, I left it alone hoping that its mama would find him.  I was glad to see the little guy fly off.  I walked around a bit more, but I couldn’t find any more butterflies to photograph.

Instead I photographed some flowers.

I like the lighting in this one.

This afternoon I went out for an hour to another place in the area that has some large gardens.  I had a bit more luck for a short while.While there were no swallowtails, there were some monarchs.

Yes, I know some of them are same old, same old, but it was fun and I am glad to get a few more photos today than yesterday.  I’ll probably go out again during the week as I’m determined to get more swallowtails in good lighting.

Anyway … I have a some good, new books that I want to talk about in the coming days, and I’m going to have some give-aways. But, more importantly, I need to return to making art.  I’ve been sidetracked with huge clean-outs, dyeing watercolor paper and digitally printing some for journals, and too much playing with my ipad.  While I was beating myself up for not bothering to enter anything into the Schweinfurth show and not having anything ready to enter into Quilt National, I decided to stop stressing over it.  I’ve had some good accomplishments over the years, and I can enjoy knowing that I finally have something in this year’s Visions show.  Plus I’ll be visiting San Jose to see the International Techstyle Art Biennial at the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles and the Zer01  Festival.  Here’s where you can find more info on the ITAB show, where I have a piece being exhibited, and Zer01.  Otherwise, I’m going to finish my tech column for The Prof Quilter and finish an article that I’m writing for The Quilt Life.  Then I’m going to *try to relax and enjoy my “wet” work area where I now have a new sink and my “dry” work area which is now newly cleaned-out and better organized than it ever has been.  Now to finish that column!

Lately it seems I cannot get myself focused on doing any of my work personal artwork. I’m getting the business work done, but not my own work.  I always get crabby and punchy when that happens, and I am currently quite a bit of both.  It seems I can’t even get a blog post up.  The deadline for Quilt National is looming, and it’s becoming very clear that I will not have anything finished to enter.  I’m trying not to beat myself up over it, yet I find myself beating myself up over it.  Dumb, I know.  Focus, focus.  What happened to my focus?

The only personal thing I’ve managed to do in the past 10 days was take some butterfly pictures.  Generally by this time of year I have hundreds that I like.  Not this year.  I’ve just a hand full.  Here is the most recent handful:

This was one of those rare times that while focusing on one butterfly another came fluttering along and for a brief moment landed.  Amazing I actually got this shot in focus before it quickly took off.

Yes, I know, after a while they all start to look the same.  Sometimes I find myself more intrigued with how the backgrounds look.

Over the weekend, Rich saw a little blurb in the newspaper that the “Environmental Education Center at the NJ Audubon Society” was presenting a talk on butterflies. Huh? He kept reading and announced that it was in Plainsboro. We’ve lived in this area for a long time, and neither of us had any idea that place existed.  And, it’s not even 7 miles from where we live!  We didn’t get there until about 4:45, and the talk concluded at 5, so we missed it.  Even so, I was hungry to photograph some butterflies. Initially I saw one that was fluttering about a plant on the path to the Center, and I immediately started taking pictures.

After only snapping off some 6 shots, the butterfly flew away.  We then went into the Center.  Nice place.  A person working there told me they had “zillions” of swallowtails and monarchs in the back area of the Center.  She also explained that the Reserve was made up of over 1,000 acres and had  over five miles of trails. She told us to stay on the trails and not venture through the trees to get to what we learned was one of the largest lakes in the area. Apparently many people were hurt doing so. Rather, she told us the trail that would eventually get there. We also learned about all of the wildflowers, the rare, and even endangered species of plants.  I was eager to get outside to look for butterflies.  The first thing we did was go behind the Center.  We admired some of the wildflowers, but, darn, there were no butterflies to be found.

After a lot of walking, it was becoming apparent that the few butterfly photos I took earlier would be it.

When we eventually got to  the lake, the lighting was very pretty and produced mirror reflections.

It was extremely peaceful.  We sat at a bench on the lakes edge for some time just admiring it and enjoying the peace (and resting from the walk).  We only passed one other person walking with two children during our entire walk.  I suspect we’ll return again, and hopefully the next time we’ll see more of the “zillion” butterflies.