The dog and butterfly

Hey, turn out that light we're trying to sleep up here. 

It was night time when I arrived home this evening so the dog and I walked in the darkness.  We started in the back yard and as soon as I pointed the flashlight up I saw something shining in the pine tree in my back yard.  A big limb from the pine tree is being pulled down close to the ground by all the pinecones it has on it.  When I got close I could see that what I was seeing was a Gulf Fritillary butterfly.  It was roosting in the pine needles of the the tree for protection.  I did some research and found that this butterfly likes to lay it's eggs on the passion flower plant.  There are plenty of passion flower plants in and around my yard so that works out good for the butterfly.  The caterpillar of the Fritillary has a very orange body with shiny black spikes sticking out of it on all sides.  The caterpillars are a big problem for people like me who like to grow passion flowers in pots.  They can just about eat up the eatable leaves of a passion vine in one day.  I avoid this problem by starting my passion flowers early so my plant are finished producing by the time the butterflies arrive.  After looking at the Fritillary the dog and I walked on up to the watermelon field which is nearly covered with weeds now.  The owners will most likely go in and pick the good melons over the next day or so.  The good ones will be sold on labor day at a premium.  The leftovers will be going for next to nothing the day after labor day.   That is supply and demand in action.  Thanks for reading my blog tonight.  Have a great evening.  Bye.