I think this is a great spangled fritillary but can’t swear to it. It might be a northwestern fritillary. Speaking of which, I feel the need to remind you, dear reader, that my IDs are far from authoritative; I’m a photographer, not an entomologist.
Two-Tailed Swallowtail
Probably the most perfect two-tailed swallowtail I’ve ever seen in my life, hanging out on yellow sweet clover in Cienega Canyon (Sandia Mountains).
Jemez Horse
It’s really hard to take photos of horses. They either run toward or away from you if they think you might have even the tiniest bit of interest in them. So when I saw two horses in this field, I parked where they couldn’t see me and then walked casually along the other side of the road, never looking at them. When I was right where I wanted to take a photo, I quickly crossed the road to hold my camera over the fence and … they were much faster than I was. Especially the horse you can’t see in this photo, who was behind me. The one you can see was definitely the more shy of the two.
It worked out well anyway. I love the line of the fence (and the fence too — could a fence be more New Mexican?) and I love the buffalo gourd and nightshade flowers in the foreground. So all’s well that ends well. Although the horses might not agree since neither apples nor carrots ever materialized.
Queen Butterfly on Spike Verbena
A butterfly I’ve never seen before — a queen — atop one of my all-time favorite wildflowers, spike verbena.
Neighborhood Roadrunner
We’ve had a family of roadrunners hanging around for a year or two but I do believe the family has increased in size this spring. They’re devilishly cute troublemakers and not too shy; I guess they’re pretty used to us. I’m used to them too — so much so that I almost didn’t bother to take this shot.