Monarchs Are In Town

Brought in by the latest cold front, the Monarch butterflies that were seen on the US Weather Radar have arrived. Yesterday, I counted about 50 per half-hour on the wing at or just above treetop levels from the driveway. Today, I counted a total of three at the lake. That includes both sides of the lake.

While that is not an impressive number, neither are the totals for the species, which has also suffered big losses over the past few years. There is talk about putting them back on the Endangered Species Act List. For those that seem to think that the Earth's weather is not changing, more and more of these types of examples go a long way to document the contrary.

With rain and more cold fronts due over the next week, hopefully, the butterflies are resting up from their winged flight south. I can remember in years past seeing Monarchs hope a ride on the mast pole of a sale boat across Lake Erie. They are crafty in such ways. Talk about thumbing a ride across country, by land or by sea, they make it down the Central Flyway and complete their cycled journey right on time. So, I'm hope full to see them at the lake drawing energy and nectar from the plants along the shoreline of the lake. 

Meanwhile, it was a jackpot of birds of prey at the ball diamonds. There was a red shouldered hawk, a Kestrel hawk and the colorful Cooper hawk. I actually got to see him make a kill. Albeit a grasshopper, by ratio to size, a pretty big meal.

Cooper Hiding in the tree before it targets its lunch.

Got Ya! Lunch is served

This is about a dozen of these that I have seen this weekend. Saturday I made a trip back into the old neighborhood of  tiered stone walls dropping down some 60 feet,  foot bridges, and winding walks from the street across White Rock Creek to the homes that I have loved from the 60's. The Japanese Maples were just stunning.  I have not been homesick for a very long time, but remembering mom walking her dog, Murray ( a white Eskimo)  and knowing that my son had walked those same paths brought a flood of memories over me. With my son's birthday coming up, it was even more a walk "down memory lane". He would have been 49 this year.

Japanese Maples in the Old Neighborhood