ThisGardenLady was just out raking leaves- not the first time this summer. (In another post, I will write more about the trees on my property that make raking a year round endeavor). Just as I was about to start cursing the trees, what looked like a fresh young Monarch butterfly flitted around in front of me, going from flower to flower, to take me out of my evil frame of mind. It was so fresh looking, it must just have emerged from its chrysalis. This Monarch stayed near where I was raking for quite a long time so that I could enjoy its beauty. Then an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail joined in.
Butterflies are one of the joys of having a flower garden. I do not have as many zinnias in my garden as this YouTube lady has, but you can see how butterflies love zinnias if you watch the video above.
Did you know that the Monarch butterflies on the East Coast of the United States fly to Mexico to over winter? And before they fly over the ocean, these butterflies must fill up with food to be able to make this journey. Watch this video to learn more.
Cape May seems to be the last stop for the Monarch butterflies on that big flight. So if readers want to see this amazing migration stopping point, drive down almost to the tip of the peninsula and island in New Jersey to the town called Cape May Point- 12 minutes south of Cape May. Stop at the Cape May Bird Observatory in Cape May Point. Go to the Cape May Point State Park. In this area there is a monitoring program where people are tagging, counting and now weighing the Monarchs. You might be able to join in. This tagging started on Sept. 1 and will continue through October 31.
I was told that they are seeing huge numbers of Monarchs this summer. If you walk around Cape May Point, you will see a lot of houses with signs that say the house has an award winning garden. You might even see people counting the butterflies in some of these gardens. If the owners are outside, you can ask if you can see what makes the Monarchs so happy in these gardens.