Brand new

Tomorrow is trash day. I was taking the can down to the street when something in the driveway caught my eye. A monarch butterfly. It looked odd. Gradually I realized its wings were still filling out. It must have just hatched out of its chrysalis. So glad not to have stepped on it, or rolled the can over it, I continued down to the street. As I came back up the driveway, trying to remember exactly where it was, in relation to the live oak tree, I saw the monarch fluttering over to a camellia bush, its wings now ready for flight. It was flying confidently, to flowers, over bushes, then back to the cut leaf coneflowers that are now in full bloom. This weekend is an international monarch counting day, so I will see if I can figure out how to post the number I have seen in my yard this weekend. I felt privileged to have them in my yard, whether I see them or not. It is pretty great to see them, though.