Royal Monarach Airbnb

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.

- Author Unknown

That's quite a reminder for this change-challenged person. Butterflies are the ultimate symbol of transformation. As George Carlin once quipped, "The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity."

I'm not sure that's true of monarch butterflies. It sounds like a lot of work to me to travel for two months, across thousands of miles, bucking wind and rain and predators. And it's all to get to a destination they've never visited before.

The Monarch butterflies begin the journey in their summer home in Canada and the northern regions of the U.S. They are headed for a mountain range 70 miles west of Mexico City in central Mexico, where they find the perfect habitat to survive November through March in the Oyamel forests. As many as 300 million spend the winter there. Wouldn't that be a sight to see?

It's not like the whooping cranes which migrate year after year. The butterflies will only make this journey one time. So how do they know where to go? It is just another miracle of God's creation. Researchers say that it appears to be a combination of directional aids such as the magnetic pull of the earth, the position of the sun and the availability of milkweed, where the butterflies lay their eggs.

Photo by Tami Brensing, Stafford, KS

They are a beautiful signal of fall. On Saturday night, my friend, Tami Brensing, posted this photo on Facebook as Monarchs bedded down for the night in the trees at their house.

So Randy and I wandered in our yard. We had some flitting from treetop to treetop, but our overnight accommodations must not have been right. Maybe we didn't get a good Airbnb review or something.We should definitely work on that!

 

I did manage to focus in on one butterfly, spreading its wings in the setting sun Saturday evening.

Then, another friend - Millie Dearden from Scott City - posted photos of all the butterflies in her farm yard, too.

Photo by Millie Dearden, Scott City

OK. We were officially jealous. We would love to hang out the welcome mat around here, too.

 

On Monday, we weren't booking our entire rural butterfly hostel like my friends, but we did have a few visit in one of our shelterbelts. 

Migrating butterflies are not the easiest creatures to photograph.

While they were visible to Randy and me as we walked yesterday morning, they were too far away for wonderful photos with my little camera, even using the zoom.

A little editing on the computer brought them in a little closer.
Take our word for it: The butterflies were "dancing" in the canopy of trees that line our road, so we walked with our heads to the sky and watched them flutter among the treetops.

(Not the best photo, but maybe you can get the idea.)

I finally decided I wasn't going to raise my heart rate by standing in the middle of the road looking up. The air show may not produce cardiovascular results, but is sure can lift the spirits.

However, for butterfly photography, the Kansas State Fair's Butterfly Experience was the easier option.

 

We got done cutting corn yesterday afternoon, and I had to deliver the guys to a field to pick up more equipment. (More on corn harvest later.) When I got back home, I walked in a tree line to the east of our house. It was worth the stroll.

Sometimes, the to-do list can wait.

I won't give up on capturing these allusive creatures in the wild! They are certainly persistent in their journey to their nesting grounds. But I have a stubborn streak, too. Just ask my family. On second thought ... don't.