OMG!!!!!!!!!

To all the people I've told that the Monarch butterfly doesn't live around here - my apologies. THIS IS A WESTERN MONARCH BUTTERFLY! In our yard. OUR YARD! On OUR FLOWERS! I about fainted. These are not common around here. Milkweed, their host plant, is not abundant, but I read that people are trying to plant milkweed and to make the environment more suitable for monarch butterflies. I feel so honored to have seen this one feeding on our zinnias. Wow. Wow, wow, wow.

Edit: I've learned that Washington State University has a program and there is a breeding area in Central Washington. In June, many hundreds of monarchs (well, actually I don't know how many) left there and are working their way south. Maybe that's where this one came from.

Wow.

Off for 5 days to the Oregon Coast. It will rain at least on Wednesday. Oh well...we shall go with the flow.

I am on a butterfly high.