Butterflies appear when you least expect them. And when you do see one … make sure you have a camera nearby.
Case in point. Last Sunday, I was out and about, and when I least expected it … there was a monarch butterfly, slurping on some nectar from a purpletop flower.
Now I’ve learned a few things about photographing butterflies. Don’t make any sudden moves, or they’ll fly away. Don’t jostle their personal space, or they’ll fly away. But if they do fly away … wait a minute, and they’ll eventually flutter back to that original spot where you first saw them.
Carefully I pulled my cell phone out of my pants pocket … focused … and got this.
That is DEFINITELY a monarch butterfly. Camped right on a stalk of purpletop. And that’s some nice bubbly bokeh in the background.
And I’m thinking to myself …
I could save this in the short pile for Competition Season 2026 …
Or I could turn it into a latch hook rug for Competition Season 2026 …
Or I could make it into some other waycool artwork for 2026 …
Or heck, I could do all of that in 2026.
It’s definitely nice to have options. Don’tcha think?
Chuck The Writer 
Interesting time of year for the little critters, with a long road ahead.
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If that critter were here it would be wearing a toque; it’s below freezing again.
FYI that stalk in the upper left intrudes on the image something awful. You could do some serious pixel-peeping editing to tone down the lightness of it and make it fade into the background. Frame the top part of the image rectangle and you’ve got a winner.
Oh. I said I wasn’t going to do that anymore. Nevermind.
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