Monarchs

Monarch Butterfly, Sun Prairie, WI 9/24/2018 dwm photo

It's probably been ten years I've been trying to take interesting photos.  It wasn't until 2012 that I started the blog to share some of them.

Monarch Butterflies seemed elusive.  I might see one floating above wildflowers, but if it landed on a bloom it wasn't there long.

Just as soon as I got it in focus and was ready to shoot, it jitterbugged out of range.

I couldn't get the shot.  In 2010, it was a different story with an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.  At an Indianapolis park, I saw the it feeding on Thistle blooms.  When I got close, it didn't move more to the next flower. 

Breakfast for two.  9/24/2018 (dwm)

Last week I got some majestic Monarchs to cooperate. It was late September.  A comfortable 68 degrees and eight butterflies dancing around a garden as a group of Oakwood residents and I completed a walk.  I grabbed my phone to take some pictures.

You get to see three here.  I thoroughly enjoyed feeling them dance around me and float flower to flower.

A Monarch fuels up for a long flight.
9/24/2018  dwm photo

As I stood in the garden I was transfixed by blurs of orange and black and their delicate beauty.

It is the start of their migration to Mexico. 

It is a wonder.  A creature weighing the equivalent of a piece of paper does, making its way south for the winter.

Bon Voyage, Butterfly!