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Butterfly Kisses
And a bug invasion
In the almost eight years that I’ve been living here on the Great Plains of Turtle Island I have learned that every year in early October the town in which I live goes through a bug invasion. I look forward to it each year because it is truly joyful…
It is an invasion of butterflies! Many of them are Monarchs headed for Mexico. Our town is a rest stop fueling station for their long journey. There are plenty of late summer and early fall flowers blooming and plenty of weeds that Monarchs like. I’ve seen literally gazillions of them on the three walks I’ve taken so far today.
It is so profoundly exhilarating!
A few days ago I talked to one of my BFFs who lives on two acres a couple of hundred miles to the east of me. At age 75 she no longer does as much gardening as she used to — especially after her stroke. She still tends her tomatoes and assorted other veggies but she hires a neighbor to mow the rest of her property.
On a corner of her property there is a big patch of milkweed. The neighbor was about to mow it down when she ran outside waving her hands for him to stop.
“What’s the matter?” he asked. “I can get rid of these weeds by mowing them down or spraying Roundup.”
