Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The 900th Post: Monarchs on the Move


On Sunday afternoon, we went down to the St. Marks lighthouse again to check on the migrating butterflies. The last time we went, it was very windy and there were next to no butterflies at all. The Monarch Festival was this past Saturday, but we were tied up with other commitments. Anyway, since we go so frequently, we usually avoid the crowded days.

Sunday was just about perfect, weather-wise, and the butterflies were out feeding themselves silly on the wildflowers along the dikes. While the one above was visiting the horsemint, most were found on the saltbushes. The honey-like fragrance of the saltbush flowers was carried by the breeze, adding to our enjoyment. The butterflies seek the sunshine, so the harsh light can make photography tricky but I got a few shots worth sharing.




The blue in the picture above was actually the sky reflecting off the pond water, while the blue in the one below is the sky.


There were dozens and dozens of monarchs by the shoreline, having one last meal before they began the long flight across the Gulf to Mexico. We counted 35 in this one bush--- and that was not likely all of them.


We even saw one monarch that had been tagged for tracking it. There were also sulfurs and skippers and fritillaries.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been almost four years since our kids came to us and said they thought we were "interesting enough" that we should write a blog. It would be hard to imagine higher praise from your young adult children! They set us up on Blogspot and so it began. This post, as titled, is the 900th published one. 

Who knew a quiet girl would have so much to say?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow that is great.
I love the Monarchs