Today, while racing to the car to
chauffeur the kids to riding lessons, an unexpected visitor arrived:
Although the words, “Hurry up! We're
going to be late!” just spilled from my mouth, the arrival of our
visitor made me pause.
We don't often see monarchs in our
garden. We play host to many butterflies, but monarchs are rare.
The kids popped out of the car to
watch its progress from one lantana bloom to the next.
I, of course, ran back inside for my
camera.
By the time I returned, the monarch
circled over the garage roof, chased away from the lantana by an
overly zealous 7-year-old photographer sporting a Nintendo ds camera.
We watched it for a moment, but it
hovered just out of reach.
And we were late.
Then, just as I shooed the kids back
into the car, our visitor descended...
...heading straight to the lantana for
a drink or two, then flying off.
And we were off, five minutes late--but
five minutes happier after enjoying the company of our visitor.
Sometimes, five minutes of a lovely
Garden Delight is all you need.
XO ~
Julie
P.S. Apparently, our visitor was a male
Monarch. Males sport a black spot on each of the hind wings over a
vein. I learned something new today...in five minutes.
I never knew that about the monarchs I will look from now on! I need mint formy stomach but I never knew it bloomed?
ReplyDeleteIsn't that funny--what would we do without Google? ;-) And, mint blooms are really quite pretty, but some herbalists say you should harvest the mint prior to blooming if you're after its essential oils. Still--the tea was nice and soothing--and just cozy. Hope it helps your tummy!
DeleteIsn't it exciting! We had monarchs show up in our garden this week too! I have been taking so many photos of them! I love their little white dots on their abdomen.
ReplyDeleteKarin, I met a man who said he and his wife take a trip up to the mountains each year to watch the migration--and the sky is actually dark with monarchs! I'd love to see that--but I wonder if it would be a little too Alfred Hitchcock/The Birds creepy? ;-) We have the straggler monarchs that show up in our garden, and I love seeing them.
DeleteGreat post - beautiful photos! This year is the first in ten that I haven't had a single Monarch caterpillar in my butterfly garden... Thanks for sharing the Monarch photos - they brought a smile to my day!
ReplyDeleteWell, I just learned something new right along with ya. I was not aware of the spots on the wings! ha, I am forever telling my hubby to stop and smell the rose's. I think you taught your children to slow down a bit today. That 5 minutes will remain in thier minds forever...
ReplyDeleteYou know, I was so stressed about being late--because we're always rushing around. I think we all needed those few minutes of just sheer pleasure in nature. And we need to make more time for it...somehow! ;-)
DeleteI don't think I knew about the black spot on the vein as a sign that is a male butterfly, very cool. We have few Monarchs here as well. Love seeing them.
ReplyDeleteI obviously never knew about the spot, either. What would we do without Google? ;-)
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