This morning was a perfect blue sky, restless lake, bright sunshine morning. The milkweed is tall and its heavy blossoms are drunk with pollen. The grasses are long and seedy and if you walk along between the groomed lawn and the rough, you can see where deer bedded down for the night, flattening the grass to make a private little nest.
We spotted some young red wing blackbirds, gawky and awkward teenagers with downy feathers still showing in places. I watched one young one struggle to balance on a branch until he finally gave up and flew down to rest on the ground. I’ve never noticed all the juvenile birds growing up, but I’ve paid particular attention this year and it’s charming to see them test their independence while still accepting food from their watchful mothers.
The killdeer were in their typical place along the rocky seam between the grass and the sandy dunes. I love them so much! They are beautiful, I think. But I’m most impressed with their bravery. They shout and run right at us to get our attention and then put on their broken-wing show, looking back now and then to be sure we are still following them away from their young.
We wandered down to the break wall and found a family of geese swimming in the calm water near the shore. On the rocks, people have carved their names and declarations of love. It made me smile to see that someone had etched “Chuck” into one of the stones!
As we were heading back across the meadow to the parking lot, I spotted my first monarch of the summer. I was so excited to see it and we watched it for a long time before I was able to get a good shot of it with its wings outstretched. I don’t really care that much for bugs, but butterflies are magical creatures. Their wings are so delicate with the vibrant color dusted on in spectacular patterns. Seeing the monarch just capped off our perfect morning!
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