The Solo Monarch has arrived

The Monarch has finally arrived in my yard.
We don't get alot of Monarch butterflies. Wish we did get more. I don't know if I have ever seen more than one at the same time.
But they sure are real eye catches.

If you wonder what you are seeing is a Monarch, it isn't.
They just stand out in the crowd.

I find the Monarch harder to photograph than other butterflies.

Especially to capture a great photograph with the wings spread open.
Still working on that, someday I will get a good clear one.

Now 'somebody' has left me a present on the cushion of my rocker.
Monarch? Tawny Emperor?
Or as Jimmy says "a REALLY MEAN spider"?

The eggs are really much smaller than they appear here.

All of these photographs were taken on Friday.

Today I am taking a knitting class in Crossville,
then spending the rest of the weekend with my hubby in our 2nd home.
Jimmy saw our resident Fawn on Friday, so hopefully I will get to see it over the weekend.

Monarch Butterfly

Monarch with extra wings

Yes, there are two Monarch Butterflies together.And I didn't give them any privacy.

I was amazed, never witnessed this before.

In my own yard I have seen butterflies chase each other.

But have never been around for the capture.

These photographs were taken at the Caloosa Wildlife Preserve,

and we were inside the butterfly atrium. Florida February 2009.

Monarch on zinnia

Look at all those polka dots. I am sure God has everyone of them numbered and in the exact spot he wanted them to be. Are we in the exact spot God wants us to be on this Sunday morning?

Oh, by the way, Pam has this one enlarged and at her house too.

Butterlies on the milkweed

These were taken in July behind my house in the hay field. Not too good of hay, but great for the butterflies. Notice the 1st photograph has a Skipper, Buckeye, Variegated Fritillary and a bee all on the same bloom.I went in the house and came back out and captured the Monarch.


I also saw American Painted Lady, but did not get a good photograph of it.

By the way, my hand is good. I kept it in ice water as long as I could stand, then out for a few minutes and back in. Did this for about 1 hour, looks like I am not going to have any problems. Will be able to tell later this evening I am sure. I hope the hummingbird enjoys what I was making him.

Monarch on Zinnia

I was at the neighbor's house the other day and he asked what kind of of butterfly this was. Needless to say, I started snapping.Notice the polka dots on his body.
This last photo is not very good, but it is real hard to catch a Monarch with it's wings laid flat.

Ecobirder, I finally figured out to get the photos a tad bid larger. Still on this dialup, so I am still limited.

Monarch Butterfly

I have never seen a Monarch before Friday.I have seen lots of pictures of Monarchs, but never seen one myself.
This one put on a show for me, then was gone.

Just hope it left enough behind for me to see many more in the future.If not, I enjoyed it while the show lasted.

The above photo was taken while the wind was blowing, the wind just wrapped the Monarch around the Liatris bloom.

He was not back on Saturday, but tomorrow I will post the surprise I got on Saturday