Monarch

Monarch

cool
mountain
air kisses
green maple leaves
dewdrops on milkweeds
I search for your presence
the season passes quickly
the amber sun is fading fast
your orange and black flash catches my eye
time stands still, I delight in your beauty
the breeze along the river seems to say
spread your tiny wings and fly away
you flit from milkweed to thistle
in tandem with the goldfinch
cycle of life unfolds
when your time has come
head south, my friend
to spread your
country
charm

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2023
August 12, 2023

Happy Saturday, family and friends! When we were in Michigan this past April to visit family, we had dinner with all of Dan’s brothers, cousins and spouses. I sat across from Cousin Judy, who is an expert on Monarch Butterflies and has been raising and releasing them for many years. I expressed an interest and told her that we have milkweed growing in the wild all around our lake, backyard and neighborhood. Milkweed is kryptonite for the Monarch! She kindly sent me a gift of a Monarch mesh cage, and I researched their life cycle, what the eggs look like, and where to look for the eggs on the milkweed.

Every time I am outside, I stop to check different spots of milkweed, and I have seen no traces of their eggs. More alarming, I have not seen a single butterfly around the neighborhood, except for a few small white or yellow ones — until this past week.

On Thursday after dinner, Dan and I took a walk around the lake and I caught a blur of orange whiz by my face. It was a Monarch! I stopped in my tracks and tried to take a picture, but it flew over the dam to where the goldfinch were frolicking. Then last night I jogged around the lake as the sun was setting and saw a Monarch lurking in the same spot! Today at the pool I saw a few Tigertails feasting on the flowers, so this lifted my heart to finally see some butterflies!

It has been a very strange summer for the butterflies and bees. We planted a butterfly bush and some coneflowers in our rock garden, trying to attract butterflies and bees. The bush is surviving, but the coneflowers are fried from the heat and lack of rain. I am hoping to be able to find some eggs on the milkweed soon and try my hand at raising them. However, we have a planned vacation coming up so that might throw a bit of a wrench into my Monarch raising plans. We shall see!

Have a lovely rest of your weekend!

Xoxo
Colleen

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 6.15 – Country Charm
Hard Bonus: Include a Loretta Lynn lyric (“The breeze along the river seems to say” & “Spread your tiny wings and fly away”)
Easy Bonus: Incorporate mountain air