Butterfly Dreams

I don't ever recall a season filled with so many monarch butterflies. Maybe the orange wildflowers (Mexican Sunflowers) my husband serendipitously planted led them to our house. These wildflowers also attracted the elusive hummingbirds to our property so I say the random package of seeds thrown into the soil wins the MVP for this year's summer - fall. It feels good to attract these important pollinators to our back yards.

 

 

 

 

 
Perched on a cosmos, another wildflower sown from seed.

 

 
And then, in our neighborhood park, filled with prairie grasses and flowers, the bees and butterflies found ample food and pollen to collect. The monarchs sought shelter in this pear tree, a new sight for me to behold. I stumbled upon them by chance - walking through the park Sunday afternoon. At the time, I didn't have a camera / phone on me; I went back later to capture these photos with my Z6II.

 

 
Feeding on prairie asters

 

 
By the next day, this group of migrating monarchs had departed. Moments are fleeting, so be sure to capture what you can or observe the marvel unfold in front of your eyes.