Monarch Butterfly I'm not



Gulf Fritillary Butterfly


Well, maybe it's just me--but when I saw this orange and black beauty I thought it was a Monarch butterfly. I grabbed the camera and snapped this shot thinking this would be great for my blog! However, when I opened the picture on the computer, this butterfly looked different to me. I remembered some pictures Cliff took last year, near the Marina Civic Center in downtown Panama City. It was in October, which is when the Monarchs visit our area. I found the pictures (there is one below) and sure enough they were indeed Monarchs.  So...I did some research and found out that the Gulf Fritillary is the correct name for this butterfly. I'm not disappointed at all because these beautiful butterflies are all over the yard this time of year. It just goes to show you--there is always something new to learn!



Monarch Butterfly



Update on Jack and Diane

Well....it seems our little couple has been busy this year! I wish I could have taken pictures of the whole brood when they were babies, but at least Cliff was able to see them. He saw a Semi truck stop traffic so they could cross the road---and guess where they were going? To the gas station, of course. I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago. We pulled up to the station and they were hanging out beside the store. Jack was still quite protective, not letting me get too close!

Camping at St. Andrews State Park

If you get a chance to visit St. Andrews State Park, located in Panama City Beach, Florida it is worth the trip to spend the night camping. We did just that a couple of weeks ago. The only issue we had was that it was faaareeeezing cold and very windy. We bundled up, had a cozy fire and made the best of it. Actually, we weren’t the only crazy people out there. Some of the campers had heated RV’s but I did see several tents like ours. We really enjoyed the nature trails and being able to see the wildlife up close. Here are some of the pictures we took on our adventure.


Turpentine Still

Our Campsite

Blue Heron

One of the many deer we saw.

Waves crashing on the Jetties