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Posts tagged as:
autumn
See below. Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves of specific types of milkweed plants; the eggs hatch into larvae/caterpillars which then feed on the milkweed, storing enough energy to take them through the pupal/chrysalis stage of development. Milkweed plants are toxic to birds and mammals, and the butterflies store those poisonous compounds in their exoskeletons, making them distasteful if not outright lethal to likely predators.
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The family that found this chrysalis two weeks earlier checked regularly on its progress. Maybe that was why they were so excited about sharing the news with me – a total stranger who happened to be walking past their driveway – that the butterfly had just emerged. This beautiful monarch (check out the blue in the wings) was slowly working its way to the top of the rock; still orienting itself, it seemed, to its new form. Or maybe it was checking out the upcoming flight plan and was a little shocked – a 2500 mile migration to Mexico ?? Really ???
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For the more scientifically oriented among us, these are stratocumulus clouds.
For the literary types among us:
“You must not blame me if I do talk to the clouds.” (Henry David Thoreau)
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