Sara, Penny & Janice in the garden

[Alliecat]

Sunsette should be here to celebrate Post #2000, woohoo. ...but there was something about a formula for time travel...

Penny & Janice were doing the Dal House photo challenge for finding insects. We had one Monarch butterfly hatch the day before, so before she took off, I tried to get a few photos with her.






Then I was hoping to shoot some bigger dolls with her, especially with their fairy wings, but by then she was warming up in the sun and getting ready for her first flight. So she ended up on top of a tree in the yard, and Sara had to make her own adventure in the garden.





She found the bean arch.



Her green hair really worked here; the light was all golden-green and she seemed to fit right in.







Thanks for looking

[Cornflower Blue]

The bean arch sure does work for Sara in that light.

We don't see Monarchs much around me any more. Milkweeds are in much shorter supply than they used to be. They were giving seeds away at the county fair this year, to encourage people to plant them in their yards.

[Offgenemi]

I am super jealous of that monarch and little dal photo! Very precious. I should go to the butterfly garden in a nearby city
Sara looks beautiful and peaceful in your garden. Her hair color became natural in these photos. I like the one where she climbed on the arch

[Miss Edith]

I am consistently amazed at the excellence of your photography Allie I mean it, I have never seen such clear, natural, beautiful pics of teeny lil dolls interacting with nature and looking so human doing it.

Your Sara photos are lovely too, green is one of my 2 favourite colours and the lighting in the arch is stunning. My favourite Sara photo is her third one <3

[Alliecat]

We don't see Monarchs much around me any more. Milkweeds are in much shorter supply than they used to be. They were giving seeds away at the county fair this year, to encourage people to plant them in their yards.

Alas, pesticides are killing off their habitat. Numbers of Monarchs have dwindled everywhere. I raised hundreds when we lived in Ontario. I don't see many here, and have to get pupae from my neighbour with the electric-fenced butterfly garden, since the deer destroyed my milkweed patch. Monarch Watch (http://monarchwatch.org/) has a program to distribute plants & seeds, as well as a registry of "waystation" gardens.

I am super jealous of that monarch and little dal photo! Very precious. I should go to the butterfly garden in a nearby city

Yes you should! You might get some fun photos. At least the dolls could pose with lots of pretty flowers.

I am consistently amazed at the excellence of your photography Allie I mean it, I have never seen such clear, natural, beautiful pics of teeny lil dolls interacting with nature and looking so human doing it.

Aw, that is just the nicest compliment! Thank you so much
I was thinking recently about why I like doll photography after so many years of nature photography... part of it is the challenge of making them look real, and setting up a scene rather than just documenting something. Adds a new degree of challenge
I'm happy that you like them!

[Little mouse]

I love that you are doing all you can for the Monarch butterfly population........the one shown here is magnificent. And I love the other photos too-wow! So I echo what Miss Edith said........your photos really are a joy to see!

[Hugosdauthers]

On this first day that feels like fall it is wonderful to look at your pictures of your garden. The girls evoke such a feeling of carefree abandon.

[fishy]

So pretty!

[Alliecat]

Thank you guys I wish it all still looked this green. The beans are getting kinda worn-out-looking.

[martah]

The photos with butterfly are breathtaking, I was going back up over and over again to look at them. Such a beautiful little creature. Your girls are looking beautiful as ever too.

[PollyPut the KettleOn]

Sara really rocks that beautiful green hair. I love the way it looks with the light and shadow. Such a pretty girl.

[Alliecat]

Thank you! The butterflies really are wonderful. Back when I used to raise them, Mom took tons of closeups of the whole sequence of pupation & hatching. I got a lot of mileage out of that in school science projects

[it's a secret]

Is this butterfly real? O_O If it is, it's very hard to make them stay calm taking a photograph I tried but I couldn't
As always what a wonderful photos and cute and nice girls :3