Monarch in the Sun

It was a warm and sunny, summer-like day, and there was a real butterfly-fest going on in the flower displays outside the building where I work. They were just full of painted ladies, with a smattering of monarchs. There were as many as a dozen or more butterflies on each display.

Every time someone walked by, the whole group would rise up like a butterfly cloud, fly around a bit, and settle back down. It was amazing to watch, simply enchanting, and I couldn't resist walking out several times, for just a few minutes each time, to admire them during breaks in my work day.

In the middle of the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly on the flower displays, and I was watching the butterflies flying all around. And then this monarch butterfly stood alone on the very edge of the pink and yellow lantana blooms.

Backlit by the sun, its lovely orange wings lit up like stained glass windows. And in my heart, a happy little voice whispered a prayer of thanksgiving: "Great Maker, thank you. Thank you for the butterflies."

The song to accompany this monarch butterfly is Led Zeppelin, with Thank You.