South Texas Thing - Strange Object on Path [Butterfly]

Lore

New Member
[Admin: the best candidate for the object on the path is a butterfly]



1666516495977.png

https://birdwatchinghq.com/butterflies-in-texas/

American Snout
  • Libytheana carinenta
is endemic to Texas and the long snout matches as well as the wing shape and pattern and colouration

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[Original first post follows]


I took this Saturday when I went to the park with my dog and my ex. We normally frequent the side that isn’t pictured here because it’s more open and less congested, I also have an allergy to the sun so I wanted the popular side because it’s shadier and I was walking with my dog on a leash in one hand, the huge weird sun umbrella I have in the other, so I was all jumbled taking pics for my cousin in Michigan to show him we’re still 93 degrees in South Texas in October. I wasn’t really focusing, I was just taking pics with my iPhone and trying to get the scenery.

On the way to the park, I saw what looked like a large, large drone hovering over the park when I turned onto the road from our sub that we take and I told my ex, if that’s a drone and there’s an event in the park, I’m not going, my dog is a rescue and she gets nervous and I don’t want to be around a big crowd and she said, what drone? There’s nothing. I am driving and looking over at it and I can see it, I said, take a picture, I can't, I've got the wheel but she didn't, she said she didn't see it. I didn’t want to go to the park period but my dog needs the exercise and I went anyway. And when we got there, there was nothing, no drone, no nothing and maybe a few people at the park, it was very empty.

I forgot to lock my truck and partway into the park, I sent her back to lock it and it’s hot as hell and I have to stay out of the sun even with the umbrella, I have to keep moving and I didn’t want to stand around with my dog, she’s solid black and it’s too hot for her, so we keep moving and I stop to take pics here and there for my cousin, I tried to take ones that depicted all the scenery and later my ex found us on the path and we walked the trails and then walked back and went home. My ex is walking with that Pokemon game too, she’s of no help and looking at that thing 24/7, you know, tripping everywhere.

Later that night, I was going through my pics to get them together to text to my cousin and I noticed this black thing in one of the pics with my dog and I thought, well, maybe it’s the 2 Boston terriers we saw earlier or maybe someone fell and I caught that on camera so I just zoomed closer and the closer I got the weirder it got. This is one of the only pics that day where my dog alerted, the first pic she’s looking away and then something caught her eye and she wanted to go to it and we continued but I never saw anything, I am there hoping we don’t run into a snake or javelina or something I need to protect my puppy and me from. Last year she got stung by a scorpion just walking so I have that worry and vigilance when I take her anywhere. I still saw nothing out of the ordinary.

I’ve shown this pic to friends, family and I’ve posted it on my IG and only because it’s private and I don’t hashtag or let anything leak. I owned a tattoo shop for years and would like to keep my privacy and I have it set for private but the people who have seen this are as unnerved and curious as I am. They’ve all said to go back there, take more pics and post it online on like Reddit or someplace but I don’t want to do that until I know it’s not a glitch or something that can be explained. I do not want to perpetuate a fraud, even if it’s inadvertently, I don’t want my name associated with that. I have to be sure this is ‘real’ in the sense that it’s not a glitch and something we can’t identify on earth before I get excited and post and share and live la vida loca. I have to be sure first.

I am a writer, I have been in the second round at the Austin Film Festival, I am a sci fi horror writer and this might be up my alley but I am not a tech person at all. I used that Forensic program that members on here use and this thing lights up rainbow colors and has a really thick outline. I don’t know what I’m looking at. I don’t know what this is. In the 80’s we had a lot of double exposure and these camera phones don’t do that and even if they did, you have to have the same pic in your roll for it to double expose another image and that still wouldn’t explain this thing that I’ve made myself insane over. I feel like I am being made a fool of. What is this? And the more I messed with it, the more patterns I found in it like when I lightened it with that forensic program, it looks like a body under what looks like a head. Maybe? Is it casing a shadow? Is there weight to it? Density? Heat signature? I don’t know how to work programs that aren’t made for 5 year olds to answer any of that.

I need this debunked. I need it sharpened or something where we can see what the hell this is. I have ideas on what it is, it’s been with me but to catch it, I don’t know now. I’ve included all the pics that are pertinent, the first pic is where she is not looking, then looking and then where we walked after and that was 2 mins after and if you see the scenery we’re on top of it supposedly in the last pic, that’s where it shows up in the pic but never in person, there’s nothing there. I don’t know what this means. This thing has what l think looks like a bird head? I can’t tell if it’s flat like a briefcase or fat with something in it like a suitcase. It doesn’t appear in the pic before or after, just that middle one for those seconds I guess, I have included the details from my iPhone, i don’t know what else to include to help anyone.

Please run these through your programs and tell me what it is or at least get a clearer image of this thing. This damn thing. Thank you to everyone who helps, I appreciate it. So far the people I know in my life haven't outwardly laughed at me and I don't want that online either. I'm just trying to get a hold of what's gotten a hold of me. image223.jpegimage334.jpegimage665.jpegimage07.pngimage881.pngimage882.pngimage11.jpegimage0.pngimage21.jpegimage011.jpeg
 
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i dont see a bird head or anything flat or any indication your dog wanted to go after something.

looks like a dog to me, taken from the back. like this, but his front legs are lying down too.
1666464561484.png

ps. if your genuine about thinking something follows you, just know it isnt a hell hound. hell hounds don't have droopy ears and dont lie down. so you're fine.

add similar pic but his legs are sticking out
1666465058770.png
 
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Nope, sorry, I can't figure it out. A bag with something draped over the handle? A gardener's wheeled cart, ditto? A motorbike with the helmet on the handlebars?

But you're a writer. Might I suggest editing down the extraneous text? You should be good at that. I'm sure everything pertinent to your original post could fit in a single paragraph. :) Thanks.
 
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I need this debunked. I need it sharpened or something where we can see what the hell this is. I have ideas on what it is, it’s been with me but to catch it, I don’t know now. I’ve included all the pics that are pertinent

I would think the best thing to do is post original uncropped pictures (or put them somewhere like Google Drive so that people can download them).

Probably not much people can do with the small versions. Also I wouldn't think sharpening's the way to go (might make it into something it isn't).

What are the exact timestamps of pictures with and without the object, including seconds? (Ie, so we can tell when it was there and when it wasn't.)
 
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First off, image forensics are commonly used to detect photo manipulations. If you know you didn't manipulate your picture, it won't tell you anything much.
I am trying to figure out the shadows in this one. From the stripes, it looks like it ought to be in the shade of a tree, but then it'd have to be suspended in the air (e.g. from a drone) and not resting on the ground. The black shadow "spike" pointing to bottom left is also something I have a hard time placing in 3D.

Could you talk about these two pictures some more, please? You took them one after the other, the first does not show the object (or does it?) and the second does. Why did you take them, what do you recall seeing at the time? Do the pictures show the object appearing "out of nowhere"?


It would be useful if we could look at the original files.
 
The fact that the object only shows up in the one picture, and that you didn't see it yourself in the park, makes me think it is small and close (and in mid-air). Possibly a leaf that was falling off the tree that you were standing under, possibly with an insect in it (they sometimes form the leaves into strange shapes).

This hypothesis explains why you wouldn't have noticed it, and it explains the shadow pattern found on it. Edit: and it explains the lack of a ground shadow (thanks @Ann K).

For corroboration, you could go back there and look for similar leaves on the ground.
 
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I am trying to figure out the shadows in this one. From the stripes, it looks like it ought to be in the shade of a tree, but then it'd have to be suspended in the air (e.g. from a drone) and not resting on the ground. The black shadow "spike" pointing to bottom left is also something I have a hard time placing in 3D.
It seems strange that there is not a shadow on the right side, as there is with the foreground dog, but I think there's a bit of sloping ground which hides the shadow - my green line, below. Nope, I have no idea about the black line to the left, but maybe a leash on an animal, or just a fallen branch.37FEBAE6-7ECF-4668-93D9-0B70ACF46E72.jpeg
 
The fact that the object only shows up in the one picture, and that you didn't see it yourself in the park, makes me think it is small and close (and in mid-air). Possibly a leaf that was falling off the tree that you were standing under, possibly with an insect in it (they sometimes form the leaves into strange shapes).
As soon as I read that, I saw it as one of these...
images.jpeg
 
It seems strange that there is not a shadow on the right side, as there is with the foreground dog, but I think there's a bit of sloping ground which hides the shadow - my green line, below.
Looking at the full pictures, I believe we'd see more of a shadow if that object was sitting on the path—I don't think the terrain can hide it completely.

The absence of ground shadow points to it being in mid-air, in my opinion.
 
First off, image forensics are commonly used to detect photo manipulations. If you know you didn't manipulate your picture, it won't tell you anything much.

I am trying to figure out the shadows in this one. From the stripes, it looks like it ought to be in the shade of a tree, but then it'd have to be suspended in the air (e.g. from a drone) and not resting on the ground. The black shadow "spike" pointing to bottom left is also something I have a hard time placing in 3D.


Could you talk about these two pictures some more, please? You took them one after the other, the first does not show the object (or does it?) and the second does. Why did you take them, what do you recall seeing at the time? Do the pictures show the object appearing "out of nowhere"?


It would be useful if we could look at the original files.
:) haha, well, I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to tech, I was just trying to see it up close with any easy program. The original files on my iPhone no problem, I just don't know how. I posted what I thought was useful but if you can tell me how to post the files to access them. The first pic showed nothing, the second shows it and the third was when we walked to and past it. I was taking pics for my cousin in Michigan, I just wanted a few and of the scenery so I could say, hey, you're freezing and I'm in South Texas toasty and I almost didn't see it, I thought it was a dog and when I zoomed, it got weird. There was nothing in person. I took pics, went home and saw it when I was reviewing them. There was nothing out of the ordinary except for a larger drone I saw and that isn't out of the ordinary but the point is still relevant, it was there and then wasn't when I got to the park and while I was there, it was just like any other day, I went today and took pics and measured and looked around but everything was like it was last week, normal. This damned thing is in 1 pic that's it.

I was 90 feet away from it.
 
Looking at the full pictures, I believe we'd see more of a shadow if that object was sitting on the path—I don't think the terrain can hide it completely.

The absence of ground shadow points to it being in mid-air, in my opinion.
That makes it even weirder. The more I know, the more questions I have.
 
As soon as I read that, I saw it as one of these...
images.jpeg
I was 90 feet away. I don't know about camera lenses but I don't know if it would capture that. We have giant moths here and this thing has a pattern on it too I think, if that's what it is zoomed, I'm beginning to be sorry it's on my pic.
 
It seems strange that there is not a shadow on the right side, as there is with the foreground dog, but I think there's a bit of sloping ground which hides the shadow - my green line, below. Nope, I have no idea about the black line to the left, but maybe a leash on an animal, or just a fallen branch.37FEBAE6-7ECF-4668-93D9-0B70ACF46E72.jpeg
This is the park today at 3pm, this is a little more than an hour or so after I was there originally last week. This is the view from the tree to the left of it and the path. I went back to measure today and see if there was I don't know actually, just anything like this thing maybe debris or some prank by some child but there was nothing and it's still too hot here to walk into the 'woods' there's too many rattlers. There's my ex that I placed where this 'thing' was and I used the cactus and tree as a marker, this pic lines up. It's taken coming back in the opposite view and then I took my ex standing where I think it was, the distance as everyone can see is 90 feet, look how close she is to me, I'd be able to see if there was an animal there, she's 5'2 for scale, this 'thing' was not tiny or big, it was a good enough size for me to see it, whatever it is or was. I'd have seen it. Not only was it in front of my face but I walked towards it. I snapped pics and walked.

When you look at this, it's a flipped view so this 'thing' was to the left of the tree you see, right at the last part of the cactus field
 

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The fact that the object only shows up in the one picture, and that you didn't see it yourself in the park, makes me think it is small and close (and in mid-air). Possibly a leaf that was falling off the tree that you were standing under, possibly with an insect in it (they sometimes form the leaves into strange shapes).

This hypothesis explains why you wouldn't have noticed it, and it explains the shadow pattern found on it. Edit: and it explains the lack of a ground shadow (thanks @Ann K).

For corroboration, you could go back there and look for similar leaves on the ground.
Respectfully in my original pic which I attached, it's a large black object 90 feet from me.
 

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First off, image forensics are commonly used to detect photo manipulations. If you know you didn't manipulate your picture, it won't tell you anything much.

I am trying to figure out the shadows in this one. From the stripes, it looks like it ought to be in the shade of a tree, but then it'd have to be suspended in the air (e.g. from a drone) and not resting on the ground. The black shadow "spike" pointing to bottom left is also something I have a hard time placing in 3D.


Could you talk about these two pictures some more, please? You took them one after the other, the first does not show the object (or does it?) and the second does. Why did you take them, what do you recall seeing at the time? Do the pictures show the object appearing "out of nowhere"?


It would be useful if we could look at the original files.
i dont see a bird head or anything flat or any indication your dog wanted to go after something.

looks like a dog to me, taken from the back. like this, but his front legs are lying down too.
1666464561484.png

ps. if your genuine about thinking something follows you, just know it isnt a hell hound. hell hounds don't have droopy ears and dont lie down. so you're fine.

add similar pic but his legs are sticking out
1666465058770.png
You and me both, I thought it was the Boston terriers I saw earlier in the park but it wasn't. My friend is a police officer and he also said, that looks like a horse. :) A fetal one maybe. If it was an animal on this planet, I defo wouldn't have posted this at all. It's been eating away at my gut since it turned up.
 
I would think the best thing to do is post original uncropped pictures (or put them somewhere like Google Drive so that people can download them).

Probably not much people can do with the small versions. Also I wouldn't think sharpening's the way to go (might make it into something it isn't).

What are the exact timestamps of pictures with and without the object, including seconds? (Ie, so we can tell when it was there and when it wasn't.)
That's what I need to know when I post it widely, where do I see the seconds? When I look at my iPhone pic details it just shows the timestamp but it doesn't have seconds. I'd like to know that too. The original uncropped photos are in my post.
 
On the way to the park, I saw what looked like a large, large drone hovering over the park when I turned onto the road from our sub that we take and I told my ex,... and she said, what drone? There’s nothing. I am driving and looking over at it and I can see it, I said, take a picture,...but she didn't, she said she didn't see it.. And when we got there, there was nothing, no drone, no nothing and maybe a few people at the park, it was very empty.

I stop to take pics here and there for my cousin, I tried to take ones that depicted all the scenery .... and went home..

Later that night, I was going through my pics... and I noticed this black thing in one of the pics with my dog and I thought, well, maybe it’s the 2 Boston terriers we saw earlier or maybe someone fell and I caught that on camera so I just zoomed closer and the closer I got the weirder it got.

Sorry for the extreme editing but so were all on the same page, it seems you saw some sort of very large drone out your truck window, but your ex did not even though she was looking at the same place you were. Yes? And after parking you did not see a drone. Correct?

Then you took pictures while walking in the park, and while you did not notice or see anything unusual at the time, you did see something strange in 1 or 2 pictures after reviewing them. Does that sum this up?

As noted above, the shadows seem strange.

If we look at this photo, we can see the shadows are going from left to right. The sun is somewhere to the left of the scene, right?
1666488877801.png

But when we look at a close up of the object, the shadows are going from sort of right to left. Note the pointed beak of the object casts a shadow on the "ground". It's almost opposite of the shadows of the trees. Something is not right. Maybe, as Mendel suggests, it's not a shadow at all but part of the object, but it sure looks like the beak is casting a corresponding shadow.


1666489463228.png
 
but it sure looks like the beak is casting a corresponding shadow
if that's a beak the shadow would be wrong even if you move the sun. but now all i see is a gigantic fuzzy wil' baby vulture...too too cute. love it :)
yea yea i know his coloring is all wrong, but so is Clifford the Big Red Dog's.
 
But when we look at a close up of the object, the shadows are going from sort of right to left. Note the pointed beak of the object casts a shadow on the "ground". It's almost opposite of the shadows of the trees. Something is not right.
I believe what you think of as the shadow is actually the underside of an almost flat part, like the seat of a chair.
 
A212C5E1-1D19-4D03-B5B5-143165441AB9_1_201_a.jpeg

The sun is almost above.

The object of interest looks like a sitting calf viewed from the rear. The sun reflecting on its back suggests it's also partially overcast by the trees.

If the object were a leaf or a bug captured mid-air closer to the camera, those sun-reflections on it wouldn't be reflections at all but rather holes. If they're holes, we should see the more shaded bit of the road through them since that particular spot on the road is shaded by trees. Instead, we see bright spots, suggesting a reflection rather than a hole.
 
Agree on Sun position.

More likely to be sheep than calf.
-ears are too small
-calf that young would be with mama


Recently sheered sheep

one-sheep-resting-grassy-farmland-one-sheep-resting-grassy-meadow-farming-conceptn-126042300.jpg



Head..png

hips.png

It's not a dark animal. The dark areas are in shadow.


To be noted: It's a mundane thing in the low information zone.
 
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Calf/cow could explain the tail-looking bit sticking to the left and the slightly bulkier dimensions. Sheep have very short tails. Texas is also cattle territory with a capital "T". The image is too grainy and fuzzy to capture ear size. Also there are different types of cattle with different types and sizes of ears. The ears in the image may be pointing backwards rather than sideways. It's also difficult to make out whether the head is facing forward or slightly to the right.

Some images of sitting calfs and cows showing tail and ears:

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It looks like a butterfly to me

Maybe American Snout, the wing shape and pattern is a good match, and butterflies when backlit often show more of the top pattern than the bottom pattern as they are slightly translucent -
Source: https://flic.kr/p/2jC6F81
(my own photo)


1666516495977.png

https://birdwatchinghq.com/butterflies-in-texas/

American Snout
  • Libytheana carinenta
is endemic to Texas and the long snout matches as well as the wing shape and pattern and colouration

1666516124752.png
 

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When we have multiple observers seriously analyzing the picture seeing anything ranging from bovines to butterflies, I'd say nothing's very obvious.

;)
 
Honestly I think the butterfly is a pretty good match

Right shape for both wing and snout
Right pattern and colouration. 3 white areas in the right place, shape and pattern
Right place for this species.
Solves the no shadow issue.
Was not seen by witness and not on all shots so fits with something small and moving.

Here is one backlit showing the orange and pattern coming though

1666521521305.png
 
the farm animal proponents need to explain how the animal can break at least two laws of physics, 1. casting no shadow on the ground, and 2. being invisible to the human observer while showing up on camera.
 
the farm animal proponents need to explain how the animal can break at least two laws of physics, 1. casting no shadow on the ground, and 2. being invisible to the human observer while showing up on camera.

Interdimensional cow "Lizzie". I said it's unmistakable. :)
 
Nice to see your posts have left the moderation queue.
Respectfully in my original pic which I attached, it's a large black object 90 feet from me.
You don't know that. It looks the same as a small black object close to you, the position in the image simply creates an optical illusion that makes you think it's sitting on the path when it's not.

Consider: If there had really been a big black object there, you'd have seen it at the time.

It's much more likely you didn't notice a butterfly.
 
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I'm willing to consider the insect idea.

What we do know is that the thing is in the low information zone.
 
There's actually a decent amount of information, we have a shape, patterns, colours etc. For me the wing shape is so well matched to the species and then the white spots matching and the colour orange showing though, add in the long snout which is unusual for butterflies and the fact that the location matches for the species. I think it's a pretty strong set of correlating evidence.

I was actually pretty shocked when I googled Texas butterflies and there was so close a match.
 
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You and me both, I thought it was the Boston terriers I saw earlier in the park but it wasn't. My friend is a police officer and he also said, that looks like a horse. :) A fetal one maybe. If it was an animal on this planet, I defo wouldn't have posted this at all. It's been eating away at my gut since it turned up.
i do think it's a butterfly most likely..once you picture it as a butterfly or a small bird flying across the path it makes more sense. its not far away on the path it would be flying closer to you. if you were walking out to a cliff overlook, you would be able to see it as closer to you, the path scenery ifs an optical illusion.

1666533938980.png

plus why did you lower your camera speed in the 3rd photograph?

and when i zoom into your [shrunken] original photo you posted above, it doesnt look anything like an animal zooming in...that's where you got the suitcase idea. you played with the filters too much. we would need access to the oriiginal 3000x4000 photos. but a bug flying by is something you wouldnt notice and your dog wouldnt care about.
 
Respectfully in my original pic which I attached, it's a large black object 90 feet from me.

If you didn't see it at the time it's kind of impossible to say that.

That's what I need to know when I post it widely, where do I see the seconds? When I look at my iPhone pic details it just shows the timestamp but it doesn't have seconds. I'd like to know that too.

Actually, I think it's okay that we don't know the seconds - seems less important now.

The original uncropped photos are in my post.

I must be missing something. I keep looking for the 3024 x 4032 3.8mb one but all I see is smaller photos.

Help?

It looks like a butterfly to me. Maybe American Snout

1666516495977.png

That's a tremendous match - great work! Has my vote.

More likely to be sheep than calf.
-ears are too small
-calf that young would be with mama

As one who lives among cows that wander freely on the back roads I don't think it's impossible that a calf could be sitting like this while the mama was off-camera; seems like a normal occurence to me.

My big question about the calf hypothesis would be whether there are cows in that park and/or whether cows in that part of the country have the ability to wander free.

But I won't agree that this is not in the low information zone.

How about "medium or medium-low information zone"? ;)

There's certainly a lot more to go on than a few pixels in a distant sky.
 
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My vote is also for butterfly, simply because if it was a cow/calf/goat it would probably be seen by or cautious of the dog.

I don't know this particular dog, but whenever I have walked various dogs, they go ballistic at any kind of farm animal, and the farm animals usually skedaddle out of there, not calm enough to lay down.

Our (very handsome!) dog friend here is in the same general position when he is looking towards the thing (assuming it's large, physical, and on the path) than when he isn't. Any dog I've had goes into immediate LOOKATTHETHINGOHMYGODITSADEER mode when they so much as sense another animal, regardless of dog breed. Thus, the thing is probably not visible to it. Thus, butterfly.
 
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