Monarch migration’s magnificence moving

Some of the leaves are beginning to dance to the ground, and I can’t help but think about how it won’t be long before the limbs will be completely bare.

But we don’t have to despair because we are assured by experience that those leaves will come again. That’s the beauty of living where we have four distinct seasons.

I will be the first to admit that each of the seasons has its own virtues.

It’s just that some seasons have more virtues than others, don’t you think? Without the changes in seasons I think it could be boring.

My wife tells me that she finds the seasonal changes reassuring because they remind her that our world is operating the way it should.

Seasonal changes are not mundane.

Recently during my sojourns into the countryside, I have noticed that almost everything now has a golden hue to it, just like in early spring when everything has a greenish tinge.

I think the golden hue gives autumn days an exhilarating feeling to them. So does football.

Migrating monarch butterflies are very obvious in the countryside right now. I have been noticing them stopping on the light purple and yellow New England asters, one of the few wildflowers blooming this time of the year from which they can collect nectar.

A couple of my friends recently experienced the ultimate thrill that can be had during the monarch migration.

They were traveling back to Ohio from Utah when they stopped at a rest area in central Nebraska.

One particular tree in the rest stop was completely coated with thousands and thousands of monarchs, and the remainder of the rest area was full of monarchs flying and resting on the ground.

Those butterflies had stopped there to rest a bit or wait until the weather improved.

“There were monarchs everywhere we went; it was a pleasant experience,” he said.

I called David Parshall, a butterfly expert, who said he has witnessed such swarms of thousands of monarchs about a half-dozen times.

“Those monarchs your friends encountered were probably coming down from Canada,” Parshall said. “After a brief stop, they will continue their migration together.”

Oh, how I wish I could see thousands and thousands of migrating monarch butterflies all in one spot. What an autumn experience!