700 miles. That’s how far I moved last year. Family and friends know how much I enjoy this pursuit of butterflies, and they’ve heard of why I do what I do.
It’s 55 degrees F in my former home now, and its’s a whopping 80 degrees F in middle Georgia, the Piedmont region. Back there, in Pittsburgh, the Monarch butterflies were singletons, and you might see 3-5 any given year. They would be seen until mid-September each of those 27 years, and October might shake out a stray Cabbage White butterfly, maybe.
Today! Today in my 1-year old natives garden, I went out to give Petra some exercise, and there in Bed #2 of my garden, together on a group of giant Tithonia (Mexican sunflower plants) . . . were Five (5) Monarchs, males and females at the Tithonias, the nectar bar for thousands of butterflies this year. Five! I’ve never seen such a grouping together, ever.
I’ve driven down here, beginning back in 2015, and butterflies fly well into November. I L-U-V it!
Change your place, many Moms say, and you Change . . .
Jeff
Winged Beauty Butterflies 
Jeff – You moved to Georgia?! I didn’t know that. I guess I haven’t been reading your posts carefully enough.
Anyway, I’ll have you know that today, here in Cleveland, Ohio, it was 55 degrees outside and I saw a monarch in flight! It has been one of the best monarch years in the midwest since I cannot remember when. The past couple of years we were starved for them – I almost concluded that there was no point in trying to grow milkweed. This year, they’re all over the place. Not long ago, I was blessed with a photo with two in it – one nectaring on a flower in my backyard and the other approaching in flight. I was sitting outside with someone this summer and, in the course of an hour, she counted 10 monarchs flying by.
So good things come to those who wait. (As other moms say…)
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I’m so happy that your Monarchs have brought smiles. Your Cleveland, Ohio Monarchs are on their way to Mexico. Not to the US/Mexican border, but all the way to mountains in central Mexico. They ride warm air currents, but nevertheless, imagine how long a car ride from Cleveland to central Mexico might be??
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