Wild and Native New England Asters Attract Wildlife

Change fills earth and sky

cold fronts float full above hills 

pails of moisture fall

flora and fauna

season palette rendering

bright movement flows thick

Within the gardens

magical animation 

flurry of flutter

feasting frenzy flux

asters sway within the breeze

Monarch sustenance 

Bold orange accents 

floating over southern field 

southward migration

Wild asters glow

honey light amber flowing

fleeting autumn days

It is 'Wildflower Wednesday' over at Gail's Clay and Limestone.  

This is also a contribution for Katarina's Blooming Friday for Monarchs LOVE asters!

It has been so amazing in the gardens with all the Monarch butterflies. I have never seen so many on one plant in my gardens. I am certain there were well over one hundred each day this week all about the gardens on the sunny days. Many if not most of these featured butterflies I believe emerged here at Flower Hill Farm, for they are so fresh and I know too well how tattered their wings become in no time. I still have two chrysalises that will emerge in a few days. 

This is a monarch way station too and so I guess I can never know for sure which are just migrating through here or may have lived here as caterpillars. In any case it is a joy to be with them. The butterflies are more concentrated right now on two clumps of asters right behind the farmhouse. Other Monarchs are more scattered about the south field. This experience refocuses the image I had years ago when visiting the over wintering sites in Mexico, where I saw thousands streaming down a mountain side and watched in amazement as the bright orange stream turned right in front of me and floated off down a narrow dirt road. I was so close to them and that made it more magical than even seeing many thousands hanging from the far away trees higher up in the boreal forest. 

I wish you all could have been here with me to share this enchanting encounter. I am glad I have these images to share. 

AUTUMN EQUINOX JEWELS

WATER GEMS GLISTEN 

ONLY LASTING FOR MOMENTS

LIGHT EVAPORATES

DID YOU EVER WONDER WHY WATER DROPLETS FORM INTO PERFECT GLOBES? 

APPLES TOO!

Red-tailed Pennant   Brachymesia furcata

JEWELS ARE HIDDEN

WILD TREASURES MULTIPLY

 GARDENS GROW NATIVE

MAGICAL MOMENTS 

ARE JEWELS IN THEMSELVES TOO

FLEETING FALL WILL FADE

HAPPY AUTUMN EQUINOX! 

JOIN OTHERS AT KATARINA'S ROSES AND STUFF FOR FLORAL FRIDAY. 

September Garden Walkabout Blooms of Monarchs

Hurricane winds whip

plump faded blooms piled face down

tossed about the ground

Silently walking 

magical encounters flow

Monarchs flutter by

Through green garden paths

gardener's shadow stirs

clouds of butterflies

Crisp cold front moves in

Lepidoptera south sprung

bright animate joy past

Light flitting through trees

chilling breezes slip between 

sweeping floating leaves 

Summer Seems To Flutter By Not Quite Letting Go

The air is crisper now as the harvest moon lights up the night sky.

The eclectic jungle of mine own plantings and that of natures intermingling is running wild and falling all over itself. 

I have only two Monarch caterpillars not yet morphed into their pupa phase, while I am daily releasing others that have fallen into their new wings. After slurping up their fill of nectar from around the gardens and dodging the dangerous beaks of birds, butterflies are flying south . . .  Mexico bound.

I still recall the excitement of seeing the tiny ones emerge from their finely etched egg casings. 

Onto a hairy landscape of Milkweed. 

Devouring its first meal . . . a protective now nourishing capsule. 

I marvel at how quickly they grow from instar to instar. 

Becoming more voracious eaters as they come closer to their final act. 

Nearly most of the summer has been filled with their wondrous antics and growth spurts. I have admired their courage too. Letting go when it is necessary to grow further is an important lesson these tiger-striped critters teach me over and again. They are gingerly about it sometimes and this one was no exception, holding on with only one proleg for over two hours, before finally allowing itself to fall head first into its new life.

Pulling up their familiar skin and trying to toss it free reveals a new beginning which was always within them. 

Times of stillness recur within any metamorphosis.  

Fresh in every way . . . new beginnings soon to fly . . . lighting up the sky. 

I recall fondly too the first Black Swallowtail butterfly egg I ever eyed. 

I delighted in getting to know the spritely fellow whose changes are more dramatic than my Monarch friends in wardrobe but not in speed of growth. 

I was very surprised to see this happen as I had thought to winter over with the chrysalis. 

I have offered two post on raising the Black Swallowtail. Here is the first . . . the second was just published today over at Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens.

Out in the garden Fritillary butterflies played out their lives unseen by me until their debut in fancy dress. 

Another first for me this summer . . . a Buckeye (Junonia coenia!) What a treat to finally see and capture this beauty in my own garden. They sure do not hold still for long. 

Buckeyes migrate too and my 'Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies' tells me that  in the fall around Cape May their numbers rival those of the migrating Monarchs. 

So summer here is flying by but these images remind me of some sweet moments with delicate creatures who are not afraid to let go and change. 

We can all be inspired by their tenacity and beauty.