Not A Typical Day

Andy's adventures in Ghana as a Peace Corps Volunteer

Natural Wonders

May 3, 2025

We’ve been on school break for the past two weeks, so I’ve had time and energy to do some exploring and updating you on my adventures.

According to my guide book, approximately 1000 different species of butterfly have been recorded in the country of Ghana. Compare that to approximately 650 recorded in all of North America (Ghana is about the size of Oregon). I made a day trip yesterday to check out the Bobiri Butterfly Sanctuary that’s about 2 hours away from me. It is basically just a forest – there’s no enclosure that you have to walk into, you just enjoy walking around the forest. This is a good time of year to see them because mangoes fall out of the trees and provide the nectar that the butterflies feed on, which means they’ll remain in one place for a long time. Otherwise, they’ll flit about from one spot to another, making it very difficult to get a good photo. I look forward to going back there.

For those viewing these photos on a computer, you can use the key combinations [Control][+] to zoom in on a photo and [Control][-] to zoom out (if you’re running Windows).

Vanilla caramel fudge? Maybe it’s been too long since I had an ice cream sundae.

I still can’t make out where one wing stops and the other one begins.
I stalked this one for several minutes, trying to get close enough for a good photo. Every time I got within 10 feet, it flew off another 10 feet. This was the only shot I could get.
Green, brown, and gold?
Polka dots
The ensemble view
The subdued colors are appealing to me.
The brown shapes look like a pre-school child’s drawings.
Awesome teal color!
I was quite surprised to learn that the colors and patterns on the top of a wing can be so different from those on the bottom of the wing.

Until next time!

ghanaandy

5 responses to “Natural Wonders”

  1. jeffrey davis Avatar
    jeffrey davis

    Wow! Beautiful Andy. Thanks for sharing. So many kinds. It’s really amazing isn’t it? What about bird species? Many of them?     Attached is Becky with some of her Somali students.

    Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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  2. Sue Avatar
    Sue

    Stunning photos, Andy!! Sue

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  3. Liz Madisetti Avatar
    Liz Madisetti

    Hey Andy, beautiful photos! I had no idea there were so many species of butterflies in Ghana. Very cool.

    Hope all is well with you as you wind down your service, just one more term of school!

    I am cat and housesitting now in a beautiful place, also have a car to drive. I will be here until October when my friend returns. I have always loved her little house by the river so it is ideal to stay here for a few months. Come visit!!

    Take care,

    Liz

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  4. Julie Efta Avatar
    Julie Efta

    beautiful!

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  5. Ann Start Avatar
    Ann Start

    SO beautiful and amazing!

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