August 3

A monarch at rest on my evergreen tree

It is said that the timing of winged migratory insects can give an observer a good idea of winter’s approach.  This year, the monarchs and even the dragonflies were moving about the state in early August, almost a month earlier than is often seen.

This monarch lit up my evergreen. I was outside putzing about the front yard and the bright orange of the butterfly against the green of the tree caught my eye.  It was  patient enough to let me capture a couple of images such as this.  I switched my camera over to “macro” to get the most up-close detail I could with a hand-held shot.

Dragonfly at rest on my pickup truck

The later as I was getting ready to drive somewhere, I saw that the open window on my pickup truck had provided a spot for a dragonfly to rest on my dash, perhaps gazing at its own reflection in the window?  Old timers say too that this abundance of dragonflies in early August is a sign of an early onset of deep winter cold.

Monarchs are migratory butterflies with short life-spans.  They head to Canada in the summer and Mexico in the winter through the mid-section of the U.S.  Do they pass through your area?  What kind of migratory butterflies do you see?