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Was it a swarm, flutter, kaleidoscope, or rabble?

It's one of those times you immediately want to tell everyone you know what just happened ...

This afternoon, I came home from work and headed into the back yard with the dogs.  As they rushed out, a cloud of butterflies was flushed up into the air and surrounding yards.  I know that I'm capable of hyperbole, but this was truly a CLOUD of hundreds, maybe more than a thousand, butterflies.

So why don't I have pictures of more than a few butterflies?

Because I have two dogs with waterfowl retrieval in their DNA, and they didn't come packaged with a stealth setting.  They ran happily about, effectively scattering my little miracle to the winds while I dashed back into the house for the camera.  And the remaining few who were too tired to scatter still had enough adrenaline to dash off when I got close with the camera.  (Do butterflies have adrenaline?)  These guys must've flown the farthest because they were too tired to move.


Anyway, I got to see it and that's a fairly amazing way to end my day.




Comments

Cristy said…
Very cool experience. I wish you blogged more frequently. I really like what you have to say.
vbdb said…
CC - thanks for your comment. Frankly, I'm more than a little intimidated by all of the other Austin garden bloggers who are so very talented and knowledgeable.
Pam/Digging said…
Oh, Vicki, how lucky to see such a sight! A little bit of Mexico's monarch wintering grounds in your own garden, at least for a moment.
Caroline said…
How cool is that? Magical!
LindaCTG said…
Oh wow! I've never seen that before in my garden with Monarchs, but I can just imagine the glory!
vbdb said…
It was truly a heart stopper. Only wish I had more pictures to share with you guys! I did plant more of their favorite nectar plants to entice the next generation back in 2012. And, I'm keeping the camera by the back door.
Unknown said…
Back in an October when I was pregnant with little Alex, we rented a house down in New Braunfels. As we sat on the deck one night, I looked up and noticed the trees had hundreds of monarchs covering the branches. Truly an amazing sight.

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