Host and Guests – Vetch

Last weekend I participated in the City Nature Challenge 2020.  I was one of 1264 people who got outside somewhere in the Houston-Galveston area, and identified 2964 different species.

The Nature Challenge takes place over four days, and on each of those days I went outside for about an hour in the morning, and again in the evening.  The weather was beautiful, clear but breezy and cool, and it was such a pleasure to just get outside and look around me, without having to accomplish anything.

One spot in the hay pasture was full of life — a patch of some purple flower that was new to me, something in the pea family.  The insects crowding the plants were oblivious to me, but it was still hard to get pictures, because the weight of the insects pulled the flower heads over, concealing them.  Fortunately I had four days to try to get good shots!

You can click on the pictures to see them larger.

Reakirt’s Blue was a new species for my list of wildlife at our farm. It is totally possible that I have seen it before, but just glanced at it and thought it was a Tropical Checkered Skipper. It was lovely to take the time to concentrate and really see what I was looking at!