This is Brandon, the latest of the Abner fan club to make it on the blog. Brandon works at the Inn at Biltmore and sees Abner frequently but wasn't around when the last group of valets and bellmen were posted here, so he gets a spot all his own. Abner, as usual, was quite relaxed for this photo.

These amazing butterflies are everywhere right now. Unlike most of the others they seem to enjoy hanging out on gravel roads which makes them far easier to photograph. Jesse Ivan, the wonderful photographer at the Outdoor Center looked them up for me and IDed them as Red Spotted Admirals. Who'da thunk it? You should check out Jesse's outstanding nature photography at his website at http://jesseivanphotography.com/.

This little snake was on Rocky Cove Road in the Arboretum when Matt, Amy, Bear, Abner and I were walking by. Amazingly enough, I was the only one who noticed. Abner almost stepped on him but he didn't budge. He is most likely a garter snake and is pretty harmless but a snake bite is a snake bite and I wouldn't want Abner to get one.