Tigers and Locusts

Ahhhhhhhhh... sorry, I'm late to post again. For some reason I'm having a difficult time getting my posts up on Monday mornings.

When we returned to the ranch from our Reno hiatus the black locusts (Robinia pseudoacacia) had finally leafed out. Not only had they leafed out but they had produced millions of creamy, white blooms. The blooms smell sooooooo good, adding a sweet, clean, refreshing quality to the air.

FYI, black locusts are quite toxic, every part of the tree including the seed pods are toxic. Horses that eat the tree can show signs of depression, diarrhea, colic and weakness.

Blooming black locust

Black locust blooms

All of the blooming locusts have brought out numerous tiger swallowtail butterflies (Papilio rutulus). There have been soooooooo many tiger swallowtails, I have never seen so many before. Tiger swallowtails are not that uncommon to see, but to see them such numbers is an amazing sight.

Look closely and you will see the western tiger swallowtail:

Western Tiger Swallowtail

Western Tiger Swallowtail