A Confident Monarch

Early August, and I and a friend decide to take off for the north. I’ve lived in Michigan for 33 years, and never been more than a mile or so past the north end of the Mackinac Bridge. This time, we got as far north as Whitefish Point. We rode in separate cars, and I had to wait while he finished a business meeting before we hit the road. I went to the poor, rocky  “private” beach advertised by the cheapest motel we could find by the time we tried to reserve for the last minute trip. And there awaited a Monarch sipping nectar from a thistle. What a beautiful site. I took some photos with my phone, as I hadn’t bothered to bring my good camera while I killed time. Slowly, I moved closer, expecting Mona to fly away at any moment. But she did not.

Monarch on a thistle, undisturbed, for the moment, by the human.
A wider view!
I think these are the “thick webbing” patterns, indicating female. But now I know what to look for. Time to sip some daisy juice!

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Shona

Engineering consultant by day, science fiction writer in off hours.

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