Coneflowers, A Bee and A Butterfly

The coneflowers have taken over two of my garden flower beds this summer but I am thankful that I can enjoy the beauty of these purple coneflowers.

Not just for their beauty, but for the pollen and nectar these flowers provide for the honey bees. If you look closely, you can see a bee on the coneflower. 

The worker bees gather enough nectar to feed their entire colonies. 

Another visitor to the coneflowers is a beautiful swallowtail butterfly.

The coneflowers provide nectar for the butterflies too. 

They help spread pollen.

Bees, flowers and butterflies just go together and are an important part to our survival. 

Thanks for stopping by to see my coneflowers, bees and butterflies - Judy.

Linking to:

My Corner of the World @ Photographing New Zealand on Wednesday

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Little Things Thursday @ Random-osity

Thursday Favorite Things @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Funtastic Link Party @ Two Chicks and A Mom on Thursday

Grace at Home @ Imparting Grace on Thursday

Friday Favorites Link Party @ Penny's Passion on Thursday

Friday Photo Journal @ Serendipity is Sweet

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound

Saturday's Critters @ Viewing Nature with Eileen on Saturdays 

Mosaic Monday @ Letting Go of the Bay Leaf

Nature Notes @ Rambling Woods on Monday pm

Bees, Butterflies, Birds, and Blooms

My yard has been has been a busy place this week. I've been having lots of visitors. 

Bees are buzzing around the flowers.

Butterflies have been scarce this summer but this week we have seen several more.

Birds

The hummers have certainly been a delight to watch. This summer, they have been sitting on a couple of perches near the feeders. 

The perches are just a couple of branches that have been trimmed or broken.  

We are thrilled that they rest their little feet on them. 

This guy has his stare on another hummer getting too chose to the feeder. They are always on guard.

Sometimes they perch on the top of the little branch that sticks up. 

Did you know birds need different shapes and sizes of perches and stands for exercise and foot health?  Plus it gives us more time to snap pics of them! 

Hummingbirds spend a lot of time rotating their wings. They can fly forward, backward, hover, and even up-side down for a short time. Check out the wing positions in the following four snaps.

You can imagine the joy we have watching the hummers!

Blooms

The cannas continue to provide beautiful color.

Zinnias in the cutting bed.

Crepe Myrtles in our front beds.

Limelight Hydrangea in our front bed.

I am thankful for the many visitors and colorful blooms that surround me. 

That's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by - Judy.

Linking to:

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound on Friday

Sundays at Home @ Little Farmstead on Saturday

Saturday's Critters @ Viewing Nature with Eileen on Saturdays
Camera Critters on Saturday
I'd Rather Be Birdin' on Saturday at noon

Celebrate Your Story @ Celebrate & Decorate on Sunday

Dishing It and Digging It @ Rustic & Refined on Sunday

MET Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch

Talk of the Town @ Kick of Time on Tuesday

My Corner of the World @ Photographing New Zealand on Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop @ Claire Justine

Share Your Style Link Party @ White Arrows Home 

Home and Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life on Wednesday evening

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Little Things Thursday @ Random-osity

Friday Photo Journal @ Serendipity is Sweet

Pollinators - Bees and Butterflies in the Garden

As our gardens come to life, we begin to see the beauty of our summer flowers.

Butterflies also begin to visit our gardens. The yellow swallowtail and the zebra swallowtail are attracted to the colorful flowers in my garden.

Butterflies are attracted to the colorful fragrant flowers in our gardens.  They feed on the nectar produced by the flowers. As they move from flower to flower, they pollinate the plants. 

Another pollinator that we see in our gardens are bees. 

Just as we need butterflies to pollinate, we need the bees to carry pollen from one flower to the next.

Thanks to these pollinators, our gardens end up with more plants and flowers. Thanks for stopping by - Judy.

Linking to:

Saturday's Critters @ Viewing Nature with Eileen on Saturdays
Camera Critters on Saturday
I'd Rather Be Birdin' on Saturday at noon

Mosaic Monday @ Letting Go of the Bay Leaf on Sunday

Dishing It and Digging It @ Rustic & Refined on Sunday 

Amaze Me Monday @ Dwellings 
MET Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch
Celebrate Your Story @ Celebrate & Decorate on Monday

Inspiration Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
Talk of the Town @ Kick of Time on Tuesday

My Corner of the World @ Photographing New Zealand on Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop @ Claire Justine

Share Your Style Link Party @ White Arrows Home 

Home and Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life on Wednesday evening

Thankful Thursday @ It's a Small Town Life

Little Things Thursday @ Random-osity

Friday Photo Journal @ Serendipity is Sweet

Thursday Favorite Things @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound on Friday

Sundays at Home @ Little Farmstead on Saturday

Celebrate Your Story @ Celebrate & Decorate on Sunday

Dishing It and Digging It @ Rustic & Refined on Sunday