Change

I saw a couple quotes about butterflies recently. The first one: “Take time to be a butterfly.” (Gillian Duce).

Why would you want to be like a butterfly? This is the second quote: “If nothing ever changed, there would be no such things as butterflies.” (Wendy Mass).

Butterflies don’t start their live as the beautiful creatures that we love to watch float across the lawn. Change is part of their existance.

I love the fact that we can change. Becoming the best ‘you’ is a process of change. Enjoy the process!!!

This photo: A few weeks back I wrote about the difference between the Viceroy and the Monarch Butterfly. I wanted to share a couple recent Viceroy photos. They may not have the story of the Monarch, but they are still so beautiful.

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

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©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright

Just Golden

The weather was perrfect for hiking, so on this day about three weeks ago we hiked to an overlook platform at Stillwater Prairie Reserve. I have never seen that much from this location, but on this day we saw a lot of wildlife. It was mostly birds and butterflies, but wow ... so much beauty. This Goldfinch was actively pollinating. Golden

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact Rick for more information.

©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright

A New Friend

Let’s start from the beginning. We were hiking and taking photos at the Sillwater Prairie Reserve. Actually we love to hike at the Rangeline Road Entrance. I have mentioned this before, but once you hike through the wooded areas, you come to the open prairie. The hike includes this section of boardwalk that loops at the far end of the trail. This all occurred on that boardwalk.

While hiking there, we ran into this young lady and young man that were also hiking the trail. I believe they were brother and sister. We also passed their parents (my guess), as they were running the trail. Actually, they passed us.

We noticed that the young pair stopped and seemed very interested in something on the trail. As it turns out, a Hackberry Emperor Butterfly took an interest in the boy. It was on his back, then his arm, then back to his shirt .. it was all over him. We have seen this behavior before. They are attracted to our sweat .. I guess for the mositure it provides them. As they continued their walk, the butterfly went along with them.

At some point they left and then the butterfly decide it liked the bald spot on the top of my head. From their he moved to Teresa and then back to my arms and hands. I tried to photograph it when it was on Teresa, but he was more interested in my keto sweat. Teresa captured a ‘live’ photo on her iPhone. That features captures several images and I made it into this loop, then used an iOS Shortcut to convert it into an antimated GIF. That is what I am sharing here. If you want to know the details of how to do that, just contact me.

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact Rick for more information.

©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright

There You Are!

It has been a while since we posted a photo of a cardinal. They are masters of hide-and-seek.

As in most cases, it started with that ‘tink’ call. We were hiking up this grade when we first heard him. It took a few minutes but this time he was not able to hide. Once he was located, we both started snapping photos. The foliage made it a tough shot, but as you can see, the beauty compensated us for our effort. We both captured a few photos with this being the best of them.

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

*Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at [tales.photos](https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCFQDGQDunrIlKumTDIMUKwg). Remember to subscribe!*

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact [Rick](mailto:rick@rickcartwright.com) for more information.

*©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright*

Natures Raw Beauty

Some sights in nature just need to be seen. I can’t explain the beauty but this photo is an attempt to capture nature and share it.. Stunning, raw and and so cool.

A side note: I received an email with a link to this article about How to Grow and Care for Butterfly Weed. This is not a sponsored link. I’m just sharing for those that want more butterflies in their garden.

~ Rick

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Rick’s latest technology muse:

Check out our vlog, which includes more pictures and video on YouTube at tales.photos. Remember to subscribe!

Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. Contact Rick for more information.

©2019 ©2020 Rick Cartwright