Gee... how do you celebrate 30 years of marriage? I don't know about you, but during the pandemic we thought it appropriate to visit our favorite cemetery in the woods. Hix Small Cemetery has grave stones dating back to the early 1800's. And, this time of year it is covered with wildflowers.
These pink and white flowers, commonly called Moss Pink or Ground Phlox, (Phlox sublata), are commonly seen blanketing the ground of cemeteries! These little flowers like rocky or sandy soil. And, this cemetery land is absolutely perfect to support it.
There are also Bluets, aka Quaker Ladies, (Houstonia caerulea), covering wide swaths of the ground around the grave stones. Thick carpets of the white variety give the appearance of snow on lawns and fields in our neck of the woods.
The Bluets occur in blue varieties as well. They are very tiny and so beautiful.
But, wait! There's more...I saw my first ever Eastern Pine Butterfly (Incisalia niphon). Yahooo! It's not much of a photo, but it was enough to identify it. And, it was flitting close to the ground supping on the tiny bluets. The upper wings (that you see here) are brown chocolate colored. You can see the edge of the wing is white with black striping.
The underwing (seen here) is patterned with brown, white, and black. These butterflies lay their eggs on "new growth of young pines..." Their larvae "favor both native and ornamental pines." "Late emerging adults feed on wild plum, dogbane, lupine, everlasting, and other wildflowers."
Nelson, Cyndi.
Painted Ladies Butterflies of North America. Edited by Millie Miller, Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado, 1993.
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