I haven't seen a Monarch butterfly around here since late in June.
Imagine my surprise, then, at seeing not one, but two Monarchs yesterday. I remember when I was little how the Monarchs would hang out in flocks every Autumn as they migrated south. Habitat degradation in their Winter home has severely reduced their numbers. It is therefore a special treat to see two stopping off here.
It started in the morning when I noticed one butterfly on Anemone 'Andrea Atkinson.'
The butterfly then flew over the house to the front garden, where it stayed all day. In the afternoon it was joined by two small white butterflies
a couple of moths, myriad bees, and a second Monarch butterfly.
It was a nectar festival on Aster laevis/Symphyotrichum laeve 'Bluebird.' I love October!