I’ve had a busy week. Ellen’s been away visiting Disney World with her sister and nephew, so I’m keeping myself and three cats fed and cared for. Monday was a slow work day until 2 PM, but I’ve been quite busy with that since then, too. I have been out taking a few pics in the yard. this Eastern Box Turtle showed up Monday. We get them wandering through our yard at this time of year, searching for mates, and a few usually stay in the woods nearby all summer, visiting the pond for a dip when it’s very hot, or the compost pile for leftover lettuce and fruit rinds (they love watermelon).

The rhododendrons are in bloom. I decided one close bloom was more interesting than the usual more distant shot of many, but in volume they’re impressive, and the three plants in our front yard are getting quite large.

Another yard visitor was this young Fowler’s Toad. That’s the only species we have here, so I didn’t need to look it up. This one was in the front garden Monday, hope he stays around to eat bugs. I saw a larger one today out by the main road.

The blue iris at the edge of our pond started opening Thursday. Here’s the first bloom, with our large, solitary goldfish in the background. Today there were about 10 blooms open.

I’ve also helped lead two field trips for the Cape May Bird Observatory. Thursday’s walk in Belleplain State Forest gave me this shot of a Question Mark butterfly with wings folded so you can see the white crescent and dot of the backwards question mark that gives its name (on the center of the lower wing, a little hard to see).

Today’s walk in Peaslee Wildlife Management Area gave us good looks at this handsome male Orchard Oriole, the only bird on either day I got a decent photo of. One more field trip tomorrow morning in Belleplain, and I’m done with that until fall. Ellen comes home too, so it’ll be a good day all around!