Last Sat. was chilly and rainy so we headed to the nearby state park to try to have a little picnic and take a walk. We got rained out on the walk, but still had fun. :) If you follow the paved sidewalk, you enter the sandy beach area through a concrete block tunnel. It's horrible -- the wind through the tunnel blows sand at you and it stings wherever it hits your bare skin! not a people-friendly design. :p However, if you walk the grassy hill that's off to the side of the tunnel, it's more like this:

Up till this year when I am seeing very few butterflies of any kind, Painted Ladies were abundant in my yard. Only saw one this year and she is well faded and bedraggled. A pic from last year, this is the underside of a Painted Lady.

A blend of old and new buildings seen on a Thames River cruise.

Magnificent animals, beautiful pics, Casey! The closest I have come to getting a picture of a Monarch butterfly this year. I have had perhaps only a half dozen sightings of one fliting about in the last 2 months or so. This one refused my pleas to show itself better for a pic. Sure hope it has a safe journey to Mexico.