End of Season: The Last Butterfly?

It's been a long, good season for butterflies in our yard. We've had many successful eclosures in the milkweed patch, and for that, we are so grateful. My big sister in Heaven loved butterflies, and I am doing my own little part to help make more of them; I hope she would be pleased. In fact, I KNOW she would be.

We're down to the end of the season in the milkweed patch. Almost all of our milkweed leaves are gone, chewed up by caterpillars, or fallen in the wind. We have one chrysalis left, but I don't have high hopes for it. It's taken too long and it's dark in weird places, so I suspect that last one may be a goner, much to our (and my personal) chagrin. But who knows?**

On this day, we had two eclosures, and the world welcomed two brand new butterflies. The first one to show up - a male - has a bit of a curled wing on the rear right, and it is having some difficulty flying far. It is currently hanging out among our orange jewelweed blooms, and it may stay there as long as it likes, or even forever, if it needs to. Although today, of course, is a new day. Hope springs eternal, as they say.

In this photo is the second butterfly to eclose, and it is also a male (note the black dot on each hind wing). It marched right up the milkweed stem, fanned its brand new wings a while, and then, in sunny mid-afternoon, it took off and flew up way up high! Up above the house! All around the yard! And then it landed in a little tree in the midst of our hedge. Where it went from there, I did not see, but I know it will fly far and fast! Bon voyage, my butterfly!

I don't know if there are any more butterflies who will be born out of this milkweed patch, but it's been a good run. We've had way more triumphs  (including three butterflies born in a hurricane!) than tragedies; I think we did pretty well, all things considered. My heart has wings, and you're looking at them, for I am the mother of butterflies!

Fly fly, butterfly! Fly high!

The soundtrack song is this one, and it's the full 15-minute version, so buckle up, if you plan on listening: the Doors, with The End, Live at the Hollywood Bowl in 1968.

**Well, turns out I was wrong about that; that chrysalis yielded a brand new, perfect butterfly! Story: here and here.