Today, while racing to the car to chauffeur the kids to riding lessons, an unexpected visitor arrived:
Although the words, “Hurry up! We're going to be late!” just spilled from my mouth, the arrival of our visitor made me pause.
We don't often see monarchs in our garden. We play host to many butterflies, but monarchs are rare.
The kids popped out of the car to watch its progress from one lantana bloom to the next.
I, of course, ran back inside for my camera.
By the time I returned, the monarch circled over the garage roof, chased away from the lantana by an overly zealous 7-year-old photographer sporting a Nintendo ds camera.
We watched it for a moment, but it hovered just out of reach.
And we were late.
Then, just as I shooed the kids back into the car, our visitor descended...
...heading straight to the lantana for a drink or two, then flying off.
And we were off, five minutes late--but five minutes happier after enjoying the company of our visitor.
Sometimes, five minutes of a lovely Garden Delight is all you need.
XO ~
Julie
P.S. Apparently, our visitor was a male Monarch. Males sport a black spot on each of the hind wings over a vein. I learned something new today...in five minutes.
