Holy pupae, Batman! This guy is huge!
This is not the striped fellow I showed you a few days ago;
this one dwells on the shady side of the parsley,
under the basil.
As I respectfully backed away from it, something else caught my eye:
Part hummingbird, part catfish.
Something that oughtn’t be flying around my garden.
Something I’d never seen before.
It gave me the creeps.
Google tells me it is a hummingbird moth. That is even creepier.
Meanwhile
two birds the size of 747s settled on my neighbor’s chimney.
Ugly things. Vaguely ominous.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources says they are turkey vultures,
graceful, intelligent, and
“Peace Eagles,” according to the Cherokee Nation.
More, they are curious about humans.
(Well, who isn’t?)
Good gracious, I hope they weren’t too curious about ME —
I’d been working in hot humidity — how closely did I resemble roadkill?
Monster caterpillars, flying catfish, chummy vultures.
Enough of summer!
I’m ready for fall!
Good-bye, August!
August countdown.
Oddments 
August 31, 2015 at 10:53 pm
I think I’m ready for fall, as well, although I shall miss your August Countdown and daily photos in my inbox. The caterpillar or “parsley worm” is another phase of the black swallowtail butterfly. That and the hummingbird moth are actually beneficial insects, so you are a nurturer of good things, even at the expense of the parsley. And you’ve given me some facts about the lowly turkey vulture that put them in a better light. Remind me to tell you about the vulture rookery we lived next to one of these days. It looked like a set from the “Munsters.”
August 31, 2015 at 11:42 pm
Eeeeuw! A vulture rookery! Not something I’d want for a neighbor. So that monster caterpillar will be a black swallowtail? That is a lovely thought, even though he — and his little cousin — are wolfing down the parsley. I can see why the big guy is called a parsley worm.
I think I’m going to continue with this for a while. It’s been very helpful. I will miss your dailies, but I’m looking forward to your next project.