Lots of Butterflies this Summer and Fall

A story in the CBC news today strongly related what my husband and I had noticed and talked about many times this year. We hike often, and we walk a lot, in conservation and park areas all year. We remarked often about one thing that was so different this year, then last, and from many other past years too.

Last summer, there were very very few wild flowers. We normally saw our waterfront paths and conservation areas bursting with Dames Rockets, Jewel Weed, Flox, Touch Me Nots, and a number of other beautiful wild flowers. These flowers serve as a food source for so many insects and birds.

This year, we've had tons of rain, last year, barely any and everything was so dry. We barely had mosquitoes last year either, which I guess can also be bad, though we think it's great. Hence, this year, an abundance of wild flowers again! Not great for all the flooding many areas suffered, but good for the flowers, therefore bees, wasps, humming birds and also, the Monarch Butterfly!

We hope this weekend to get out for what may be the last big weekend for butterflies and humming birds. My husband has even seen a lot of them right outside our condo, the Monarchs.