Fairies in the bushes

When Katie and I were walking in Las Vegas, NM the other day, I noticed something flittering around in the beautiful purple flowered bushes.  I stopped and watched them, and then ran Katie back to The Palms, got my camera and went back to get some photos.

These are truly amazing little insects.  They kind of looked like hummingbirds, kind of looked like bees; I had no idea what they were, but they fluttered from flower to flower, spending a few seconds at each one.  Their wings, which looked like double or triple layers, were moving constantly - I could hardly see them, ghost wings, they were moving so fast - like a hummingbird’s wings that never stopped.  They would hover over the flowers like a hummer, and out comes this super long tongue which goes into the flower, then rolls up underneath, like a party favor blower, and goes into it’s mouth.  Then quickly on to the next flower.

I checked on the web – John said he's heard them called Humming Bugs, so I looked them up under that, and found lots of photos.  The type I saw is called a White Lined Sphinx, and it’s a large moth.  I’ve heard of Sphinx moths, but I've never seen one until now.  They are sure interesting.  

Here is a clear close-up photo from the web, showing what they look like – their wings looked pink, white and brown when they weren’t a blur.  They are about the size of a small hummingbird.  Really pretty.  Check out how long their tongues are:

And here are some of my best photos – it was so hard to get them – most of the moths were just blurs.  These are the photos from Las Vegas along the sidewalk:

John said we had these insects here at Storrie Lake by the creek, and when Jeanne and I were walking the dogs near the bridge, we saw one that looked like it was hurt – it was just sitting on some greenery near the bridge, so it’s wings were still:

I also saw a new bird in town, a European Starling, and later saw some in the park, too:

This isn’t a good photo, but I loved the bright purple gorget which shows up so well on this Black Chinned Hummingbird:

In the field behind the electric loop where we're camped, there is a field with horses, and the other day I noticed the goats there.  I heard a loud whinnying and glanced out the window, and a little herd of goats was running through area.  Later I walked over to the fence to see them closer – how I wish I lived on a farm.  I love goats, I guess I should since I'm a Capricorn, and here they are:

WELCOME to our newest Follower, Motorhomes N Muttskeys!  They have no information available, but the name sounds like they do have an RV.  So, M N M, let me know if you have a blog or if you start one, and I'll pass the info along in a post.  Thanks for following along with us, and Welcome Aboard!

From Me and Katie, have a great Wednesday evening, everybody!