It seems today is the day when all the Red Admiral butterflies in my neighbourhood hatch. I must have seen 25 or 30 while walking the dog today. I've got four in my garden right now. So whimsical - I love butterflies. There's not much plant life so far, but they're testing their wings on the warm ground.This is nothing compared to the September when I had over 100 Monarch butterflies on my Japanese Knotweed at one time. That was magical. But that was in the day before digital cameras and I couldn't do it justice. It was two days past Labour Day and the Japanese Knotweed was in full bloom. Japanese Knotweed is a horrible pest, but it made up for it on that day. I could stand in the back yard, look up in the sky and count 20, 30, 40 butterflies coming in for landing. It was amazing - the Mexican migration right in my back yard. They must have been sending messages out to each other or the scent of the knotweed must have lured them in. I contacted the media but to no avail. Anyway this picture is sort of similar to the feeling I had on that day.
Monarch Watch/Chip Taylor
