Hi everyone
Hope everyone is having a good day.
I have been able to get outside again after an illness in the summer and pay attention to my much neglected yard. It's a pleasant day here in South Alabama; temperature in the seventies with a light wind and cloudy.
All the shrubs needed trimming and I worked my way to the front bed to the
Lantana. In case some aren't familiar with Lantana it's very hardy and has small multicolored blooms.
I had to pause and appreciate the Monarch butterflies dancing among the blooms, perhaps in the middle of their journey; beautiful. Life is full of simple pleasures yes? 🙂
@rikke lucky you. There was a time when Monarchs were everywhere here. We have about one acre of gardens we tend in total and this year we only had two monarchs. Two. Thank the highway departments in part for spraying and cutting the ditches along roads for some of the losses. Mexico also has a few bad winters that killed millions also. A lot of people mistake Viceroy butterflies for Monarchs. The Viceroy looks very similar but is smaller in size. Did you know, butterflies are born fully grown? The size the are born is the size they will ever be.
Hi Jill
Thanks for your response. Hope you are having a good day.
I didn't know about the difference between Monarch and Viceroy butterflies. I suspect that these were the latter. It was a nice moment though; a pause to appreciate the beauty of nature. I did know that butterflies are born full grown.
In Birmingham, AL Birmingham Botanical Gardens there is a special treat; a butterfly house! It's a bit of a clear plastic enclosure, quasum hut shaped. There's a sign at each door instructing those who enter to go in and exit quickly so the butterflies don't get out. It was a special place; one with it's own spirit so to speak. I had to wonder how they caught and got all the butterflies in. Some sort of trap I suppose.🙂
