This evening, after my daily 15 minutes of weeding, I sat down in my front garden to enjoy the flowers and flying things.
I saw a female hummingbird last week, so I was only moderately surprised (but still super thrilled) to see a male ruby-throated hummingbird stopping to enjoy nearly every single milkweed bloom, sharing space with the giant fuzzy bumblebee that was also enjoying the buffet.
What DID surprise me was the monarch butterfly flitting overhead. It didn’t stop to taste any of the flowers — it just fluttered in loops and figure-eights above the garden.
When it finally lit on a tree branch, I stood and slowly crept up to it with my cameraphone snapping away.
It let me get within a couple inches of it, and didn’t fly away until my phone and I had backed off.
Enjoy the milkweed, Your Majesty.