Thanks, Nature.

The trails I walk the dog most often are my favorite, because they are so beautiful and interesting, transitioning from open plains with gentle rolling hills to an old forest, and there is never a shortage of things to look at. There is always a red tailed hawk squawking at the dog, birds, wildflowers, fields of clover and alfalfa and butterflies. Lots and lots of butterflies.

See the hawk just above Tucker's head? He doesn't like dogs very much.

Oh my. The butterflies this year, clouded sulphurs, they were everywhere, by the thousands. This was their year, statistically speaking. The clover and alfalfa were being cut by an old tractor, and the butterflies were concentrating in the last uncut field.


It was the best thing ever. Magical. Look:

Tucker was oblivious to the dozens of butterflies flitting around him.

This was the largest puddling, I'm guessing because of the minerals in what I'm also guessing is coyote scat. There is a metaphor in here somewhere.

I walked past at least five large gatherings. Surely they are doing more than we can know here.

There was an occasional dead butterfly on the trail. I learned that their lifespan is from a few days to a few weeks. The ground will be covered with them like fallen leaves soon.

My walk began and ended with the butterfly swarms, with a nice interlude in the wooded trail. Our record breaking cold snap got rid of most of the mosquitoes.

Some of the leaves are starting to turn, and the last blooms of the season are lovely goldenrod and   white and lavender asters. Lunchtime walks are the worst for photographs, since everything washes out. If I knew how to work my camera, there's probably some adjustments I could make. Or I could just get up and get going sooner when the light is right.

There are hundreds of butterflies in this picture, trust me.

Definitely one of my best walks ever. Thanks, nature for the show.  xo