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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.
October 16, 2011 at 4:49 AM
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.
October 17, 2011 at 8:20 AM
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.
October 22, 2011 at 12:46 AM
Caroline said…
How cool is that? Magical!
October 23, 2011 at 5:57 PM
LindaCTG said…
Oh wow! I've never seen that before in my garden with Monarchs, but I can just imagine the glory!
November 15, 2011 at 5:04 PM
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.
November 16, 2011 at 7:48 AM
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.
March 1, 2012 at 7:13 PM
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