Those police car moths again!

Quick trip to Flagstaff again yesterday -- late start but I was going stir crazy staying indoors reading and listening to NPR all day.

First I took a short walk around the Lamar Haines loop trail, which is easy, but nevertheless I panted on even the easiest uphill parts. So frustrating! I didn't see much of interest beyond the pleasant woodsy scenery, which, once you've done Kachina Trail, isn't all that impressive.

Then I returned to the start of the Kachina Trail, loaded with camera and books, determined to get better photos of the moths and to figure out what exactly the flower is. How often can one count on getting such lazy subjects? They are so focused on slurping and mating, they hardly notice me, except to rotate, seemingly trying to keep an eye on me.

The last time I photographed them, I was using my Nikon SLR. Its lens (the "comes with" lens) didn't allow me to zoom down close enough. My best picture, posted a few days ago, was a tiny center of a huge photo of grass and flowers.

This time, I was able to use my Nikon Coolpix, which hadn't been working, but I finally figured out my batteries were so old they hardly took a charge any more. New battery, camera like new again. It allowed me to take much closer shots with more accurate focusing. The hitch? Bright sun, blinding extremes of bright orange-yellow petals with totally whited-out bright spots, too extreme to correct in photoshop (at least as far as I can figure out). I did my best with adjustment of brightness and contrast. I suppose there's a filter for this. Even so, the pictures came out much better, though the moths are getting old and raggedy and the flowers are beginning to look more shriveled. I still don't know the flower. I'll have to bring a key to Arizona flora next time instead of a field guide!