It's Fall again! Cold temperatures came early to south Alabama. We had a very early frost that bit back many of the fall wildflowers and bedding plants. I think we broke records that went back more than 100 years. The weather warmed up and the flowers came back but not in the abundance that would have been. I've made a couple of trips down the Foley walking path. I can always count on inspiration there. The bees and butterflies were out and working hard. The phrase "busy as a bee" really made sense as I watched them on the goldenrod and tried to get some good shots. It was hard; they were moving too fast! We've had some bright, sunny days and the butterflies love those. They were fighting with the bees for space on the bottle brush bushes. It was amazing. One red brush bloom would have 4 or 5 bees and a butterfly on top of that! Maybe they are getting ready for an early winter.
I've got a few fall leaves in this album. I'm always drawn to color, whether it is in the form of a flower, weed or leaf. Down this far south the only real color in fall leaves is the popcorn tree. It is considered a pesky trash tree but you can usually count on it for some nice reds and golds this time of year.
For those of you who care about such, I used my 70-200L lens with the 13mm extension tube on most of these photographs. The bees and butterflies were so busy that they didn't mind me getting close up. I was probably 10-12 inches from most of them and closer on some shots. I've noticed that butterflies are curious creatures. One particular Monarch didn't mind me getting very close to him as long as he could see me. When I moved to get a shot from behind him he didn't care for that and left. By the way, I never knew butterflies were so hairy!
